Florida International University has been awarded a $50,000 grant from State Farm to support FIU's School of Computing and Information Sciences Discovery Lab. The check presentation will be held on Tuesday, April 10, at 2:30 p.m., in Room 243 of the Engineering and Computer Science Building on the Modesto A. Maidique Campus, 11200 SW 8th Street, in West Miami-Dade.
The Discovery Lab, created last fall, is aimed at developing products for the marketplace. At the same time, the laboratory provides students with the hands-on experiences they need to solve real-world challenges, develops student-led research opportunities, fosters students' entrepreneurial skills, and trains a new generation of IT professionals who reflect the diversity of South Florida. The $50,000 grant will help the laboratory acquire key design and development tools it needs to advance its mission. The grant will fund workstations, servers and software licenses, as well as help fund a design competition for students. The donation is part of FIU's longstanding partnership with State Farm.
The FIU grant is one of four awarded by State Farm in 2012 to promote business and technology education curriculum and training across the country. Additional $50,000 grants also were awarded to the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa; Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi; and Mansfield University in Mansfield, Pennsylvania.
State Farm selected these four schools for grants based on the strength of their business and technology education programs. In the past, similar grants at various institutions have been used to upgrade classrooms, purchase equipment, build computer labs or enhance teaching.
State Farm actively supports efforts to ensure young people of all ages have access to a quality education that will allow them to achieve their greatest potential, preparing them to be active participants in a nation that continues to be a global leader. State Farm is committed to helping create a healthy business environment through philanthropy and by working with national and local relationships to build stronger communities.
Michal Connolly State Farm Insurance, 863-318-3088
Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. It has 160,000 alumni and enrolls 48,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of the Sun Belt Conference and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 37 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.
