Innovative student projects at Florida State University will be showcased March 27-28 at DIGITECH, an annual exhibition that recognizes achievement in digital technology and promotes collaboration between disciplines. The expo is presented by the College of Arts and Sciences’ Program in Interdisciplinary Computing.

To kick off DIGITECH, a panel discussion, “Learning, Innovating and Monetizing,” will take place on Thursday, March 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. in Room 2005 of FSU’s William Johnston Building. Timothy Kinney of Florida State’s Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship will facilitate the discussion, which will feature the following panelists:

• David Brightbill, Florida Virtual Campus and Making Awesome
• Trish Hanson, MoLab Inc.
• Vincent Hunt, MASSIVE Corp.
• Associate Professor Paul Marty, FSU College of Communication and Information
• Micah Widen, DOMI Ventures

The panel will discuss the building blocks of entrepreneurial success: acquiring the knowledge required to innovate, extracting unique and useful ideas from knowledge, and transforming ideas into a profit-earning enterprise.

DIGITECH will also feature dozens of innovative student exhibits, including robotics, apps, creative works and tech start-ups, plus dozens of department demonstrations. The student exhibits will be on display on Friday, March 28, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the atrium of the William Johnston Building.

“This year, we will be providing exhibitors experienced advice on how to take innovation and make it pay off as a business venture,” said Ken Baldauf, director of the Program in Interdisciplinary Computing. “Several of our past exhibitors have gotten work out of showing their products at DIGITECH. It also gives students a chance to connect with other students and brings together people from all the different colleges.”

The free exhibition is open to the public and will feature a flight simulator, a musician performing an electronic cello at the awards ceremony, choreography and videos.

“There will be a lot of interesting things to see that aren’t necessarily on a computer screen,” Baldauf said.

An awards ceremony, beginning March 28 at 4 p.m., will feature a short presentation by FSU Vice President for Research Gary Ostrander. Awards will be presented in the categories of Innovation, Expression, Contribution, Entrepreneur and Campus Contribution. A reception will follow with free hors d’oeuvres and refreshments.

Learn more at http://digitech.fsu.edu/2014/.