Gulf Coast Community Foundation has provided a $40,000 grant to University of Florida Innovation Station-Sarasota County to provide UF engineering students with internships this summer. The funds will supplement student summer stipends at regionally based internships.

The goal of the internship program at UFIS-SC is to encourage students to explore career opportunities in the region’s tech and engineering sectors. Gulf Coast Community Foundation has been working with UF since the university established its first engineering extension station in Sarasota County in 2016. In summer 2019, a $61,500 grant from Gulf Coast provided support to 19 of the 41 engineering interns UFIS-SC brought to the Sarasota County area. The students used the stipends for expenses like food, lodging, and transportation during their assignments, and even to help defray tuition costs in the new school year.