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May 01

Innovation: Reimagined Education in Florida

Robert Henley

The entire Florida Conference Office of Education group joyfully participated in the ribbon-cutting for the reimagined 
Innovus Innovation Center.

 

An Innovus student presents his board project to an elementary visitor.

 

The Innovus ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at a newly reimagined innovation facility with participants Frank Runnels (left), Florida Conference vice president for education; Allan Machado, D.Min., Florida Conference president; Robert Henley, Florida Conference Institute for Innovation director; and Elisa Rahming, Florida Conference CFO/treasurer.

 

Allan Machado, D.Min., Florida Conference president, tours the newly equippped and remodeled Innovus Innovation Center.

 

Students’ creative designs were available for sale at the store table.

 

Today, we open the doors and officially welcome present and future students, parents, donors, and others in this community to the newly reimagined Innovus Innovation Center,” pronounced Allan Machado, president of the Florida Conference.

Innovus is an outgrowth of the Florida Conference Innovation Lab at Forest Lake Academy that was implemented in 2017 to serve as an experimental classroom to explore the impact of innovation and personalized multi-year competency-based education on Adventist K-12 education.

On a blustery, cold, January day in 2024, a large group of interested people took seats outside the Innovus Innovation Center to witness the welcoming and the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the reimagined facility. The audience then proceeded indoors to tour the facility that includes a mechatronics lab, a wet lab, a co-working space, a ghost kitchen, a VR/AI lab, and two design studios.

Innovus is a component of Florida Conference Office of Education’s (FLCOE) Innovation Initiative, and home to Florida Conference Institute for Leadership and Innovation (FCILI). The mission of the FLCOE Innovation Initiative is to reimagine education in Florida Conference through innovation. The vision, influenced by Jeremiah 1:5 and Proverbs 18:16, is to create learning environments that empower all students to own their learning, shape their dreams, discover their gifts, and realize the destiny that God has for their lives.

In addition to serving as a research site for education, the Florida Conference Innovation Lab at Forest Lake Academy has served as a STEM experience destination for Florida Conference schools. Through daylong STEM field trips on topics such as mechatronics, robotics, CAD, 3D printing, and coding, students had the opportunity to be exposed to and explore topics that fuel the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Innovus will take those programs, X Lab Startup Incubator, STEMCIE Camps, and Innovation Scholar Program to the next level, and make room for new programs such as the Innovation Academy for homeschool students. The impact of those programs has been tremendous. For example, the scholar program, which identifies talented youth beginning in the sixth grade and provides them with a multi-year journey to pursue their passions/interests, has been instrumental in assisting several alumni with receiving much desired internships which they attribute to their participation in the program.

Brenden Henley, a sophomore at Oakwood University, recently presented research at the National Science Foundation’s Emerging Research Conference that he began as a ninth grader. He began his research journey while participating in the Loma Linda University/FCILI Biomechatronics Collaboratium. During the event, he met Michael Davidson, Ph.D., assistant professor for Loma Linda University School of Medicine and manager of Loma Linda Health Orthotics and Biomechatronics Lab. Via a partnership with Elaine Vanterpool, Ph.D., chair of the Oakwood University Biological Sciences Department, and Davidson, FCILI, with the support of the Versacare Foundation, Henley has been provided with a lab space to continue his research at Oakwood.

Jared Rader, a freshman at Southern Adventist University majoring in electrical engineering, was just awarded a six-week internship at the Brookhaven and Fermilab National Labs. His multi-year research project focused on the use of LiDAR technology with medical robotics.

Andre Escobar, a senior at Forest Lake Academy, has recently been accepted at Florida Polytechnic University, a top-10-ranked STEM University. Escobar has been conducting physical computing research with the goal of developing a game-based physical therapy rehab center. He and his parents credit his early acceptance to his participation in the scholar program.

Innovus was intentionally designed to facilitate the disruption of Adventist education. It is a testament to a forward-thinking approach, aimed at reshaping traditional educational paradigms and ushering in a new era of learning excellence.

“At its core, Innovus is strategically designed to transcend conventional boundaries, leveraging innovation as a powerful catalyst for change,” said Frank Runnels, Florida Conference vice president for education. Innovus will provide immersive learning experiences that will go beyond the ordinary, fostering a culture of creativity, critical thinking, and adaptability among students.

By embracing cutting-edge educational methodologies, emerging technologies, and forward-looking curriculum design, Innovus will equip students with the competencies and mindset necessary to thrive in the rapidly changing world. More information about Innovus and the Innovation Initiative is available at innovusinnovation.com and flcoeinnovation.org.

Florida | May 2024

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