The University of Florida announced a second round of seven projects related to artificial intelligence (AI) , innovation and technology that will receive strategic funding awarded by the state Legislature.
The university received $130 million in new funding from the Florida Legislature and, for the first time, as established by UF President Ben Sasse, over half will be used for strategic purposes. In October, a total of $9.2 million was awarded to an initial round of 19 projects for strategic initiatives related to student experience, research and technology .
The second round of awardees, like the first, were chosen based on their impacts on student experience and research productivity and will receive a combined $5,352,990 from the university.
“These proposals will help take UF to the next level. Each of these bold initiatives will enhance the future of Florida and the world,” said Sasse in a news release. “We’re committed to being both elite and practical. I couldn’t be prouder of the way our incredible units at UF are putting this strategic funding to good use. We want to tackle big challenges and these projects are the kind of ambitious, interdisciplinary, and collaborative work that only a large, comprehensive, land-grant university like ours can do.”
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Additional proposals chosen for the second round of funding will be announced on Dec. 4 and Dec. 18. A third group of submissions — which includes proposals related to space science, data and business , among others — has been marked for potential funding and is currently undergoing a preliminary feasibility study.
University officials initially asked for proposals from colleges for how the funding could best be spent, and UF received over 250 submissions for initiatives that could be used to improve education at UF. A total of $50 million was made available to all colleges and administrative units to submit the proposals and an additional $24 million was given directly to deans to report back on their strategic uses of funds.
The university said in its first announcement that all colleges will participate in a strategic funding investment. It also said the goal of Sasse’s funding initiative is to increase interdisciplinary scholarship at the university and to make the student experience better.
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