The seamless relationship among primary schools, community schools, community colleges and higher-education institutions in Florida’s innovative Pre-K 20 educational system is aimed at creating a strategy that will positively impact the region’s economic development and quality of life.

Research universities are also a critical element in making our region competitive in this new global economy that requires a more sophisticated, highly trained workforce. Data collected by myregion.org shows that our region has three ranked research universities: the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Brevard County, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Volusia County, and the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orange County. Recently, UCF was ranked second out of the five Florida schools listed in an annual technology review by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Among the top 84 schools listed in the University Research Scorecard 2002, UCF ranked 38, an improvement of 10 from the institution’s previous ranking. The five Florida schools listed in order of ranking were the University of Florida (20), UCF (38), the University of South Florida (68), the University of Miami (70) and Florida State University (82).

Click here to see the MIT table.

The University Research Scorecard is an annual report showcasing the most productive schools in technological invention. The data are provided exclusively by CHI Research of Haddon Heights, New Jersey, for Technology Review, MIT’s magazine of innovation.

Technology Review establishes a primary ranking category titled “Technological Strength” that quantifies a school’s patent portfolio. The report also categorizes each institution’s figures in number of patents, current impact and science linkage.

A school’s overall ranking is based on the number of patents it has received in a year multiplied by the frequency its patents from the previous five years are cited in the study year. Schools also receive a separate science linkage ranking, indicating the number of scientific papers referenced in an institution’s U.S. patents.

UCF research showcased significant improvements over its average score from the previous five years, moving up 10 points overall, increasing total number of patents by eight and boosting the science linkage score by more than two points. Notably, UCF leads the entire southeast region of the United States in its current impact index score, outpacing schools such as the University of Florida, Georgia Tech, the University of North Carolina, Duke University and many others.

UCF attributes much of its rise to several strategic moves:

• Focusing on excellence in selected areas of research and graduate studies and partnerships with industry and the community.
  
• Supporting high-tech development. UCF’s continued focus on research strengths in education, photonics, engineering, simulation, computer science, alternative energy and emerging strengths in nanosciences and life sciences have assisted regional efforts to expand Central Florida’s high-tech sector and have increased opportunities for industry partnerships.
  
• Establishing a highly successful high-tech incubator.
  
• Strengthening intellectual-property activity and tech-transfer activity.
  
• Building a base of established researchers. UCF’s Provost’s Research Enhancement Program (PREP) has cleared the way for hiring more than a dozen world-class researchers in disciplines across campus, spurring proposal and patent and licensing activity.
  
• Working with the Florida High-Tech Corridor and political leaders to offer incentives for projects partnering university researchers with high-tech industries.
  

In addition to the increased technological strength, UCF received record extramural funding of $75 million in the 2002 fiscal year, increasing 20 percent over 2001 and more than doubling the total from just three years ago.

To learn more about UCF’s programs, institutes and centers, visit www.research.ucf.edu or contact Linda Chapin, Director of the Metropolitan Center for Regional Studies at the University of Central Florida and myregion.org’s CEO Roundtable and Technical Committee member, at lchapin@mail.ucf.edu.