Over the years UCF’s academic work in the tech field has earned national recognition, with the university producing 25% of engineering and computer science graduates in Florida. This future-focused momentum is helping to advance Orlando’s tech hub, which ranks as the second-fastest-growing in the South, according to CommercialCafe.Florida’s Orlando metro area — including Sanford and Kissimmee — also ranks 20th overall and 16th for quality of life, according to CommercialCafe, driven by high educational attainment and low unemployment.
A Leader in Simulation
The study noted Orlando’s strength in the simulation technology field and the robust talent pipeline from UCF. The Institute for Simulation and Training, based at UCF and partnering with government and industry for more than 40 years, boasts a statewide economic impact of $11.6 billion. Within the College of Engineering and Computer Science, UCF’s School of Modeling, Simulation and Training has awarded more than 550 graduate degrees since its founding in 2018, advancing both research and workforce development in the field.
“At UCF — and especially within the Institute for Simulation and Training — we have a long-standing commitment to cutting-edge research at the intersection of humans and technology, particularly through simulation and training,” Agere Chair Professor in Computer Science Carolina Cruz-Neira says. “Our integration of advanced research with academic programs has become a cornerstone of Central Florida’s simulation ecosystem. We produce a strong talent pipeline, graduating thousands of well-trained professionals each year, from undergraduate to highly specialized graduate degrees, many developed in close collaboration with industry and government.”
The university’s impact in the simulation sector also includes startups developed through UCF’s Business Incubation Program, which has supported more than 1,000 companies in the region over the past 25 years. One of the most recent simulation-based businesses includes ZuLeris Interactive, a Knight-founded startup that develops virtual training for the defense industry.
Developing Game Design
Orlando has emerged as one of the fastest-growing regions for video game development — part of an industry that generated nearly $455 billion in global revenue last year. UCF is contributing to the industry through talent educated in the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA), UCF’s graduate game design program located at UCF Downtown and surrounded by major companies. FIEA has ranked No. 1 in the world for four of the last five years, and the undergraduate games and interactive media program holds the No. 5 spot globally.
“Most great and growing cities have university presences in their downtown,” says Ben Noel, executive director of FIEA. “In terms of FIEA and UCF Downtown, we are a short walking [distance] to thousands of developers and dozens of video game and simulation companies. The UCF Downtown campus investment near Creative Village, as well as FIEA’s reputation in the video game industry, have provided proven results.”
UCF’s FIEA program maintains strong partnerships with major game companies like Electronic Arts (EA), Epic Games, Iron Galaxy Studios, Microsoft’s Undead Labs, Ubisoft and Universal Creative. These companies provide scholarships, guest lectures, adjunct faculty and internships that often lead to full-time employment for UCF graduates. Over 100 FIEA alumni work at EA’s Tiburon studio, and many employees at Iron Galaxy and Undead Labs are FIEA graduates. The close ties formed during students’ time at UCF Downtown help maintain ongoing collaboration, with alumni frequently returning to recruit new talent.
“Orlando has the advantage of having [thousands of] college students within [15] miles and UCF as its hometown university,” Noel says. “The quality of life, comparable affordability to other media hubs and critical mass of industry [here] have Orlando and Central Florida on almost all economic development maps.”
Advancing with AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most impactful technological developments today, influencing nearly every industry. More than three-quarters of respondents say their organizations use AI in at least one business function, according to a report from global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
To meet the growing demand for expertise in the field, UCF launched an Artificial Intelligence Initiative, which includes hiring 30 new faculty members across five colleges to elevate the university’s expertise and education in AI.
UCF researchers are already exploring ways to use the developing technology, particularly in healthcare. Under the mentorship of College of Medicine Associate Professor Laura Brattain, six students from the College of Engineering and Computer Science recently developed an AI system to increase efficiency during robotic surgeries at Orlando Health. Brattain is also working with College of Health Professions and Sciences Assistant Professor Colby Mangum to study how AI can be used to diagnose and treat back pain by using AI with ultrasounds — a cost-effective alternative to MRI and CT scans.
The complex imaging of these medical scans is related to another advancing technology connected to AI: computer vision.
Enhancing Computer Vision
Computer vision is a field of AI that teaches computers to process and interpret meaningful information from digital images, such pictures and videos. Key challenges include detection and recognition of objects, features, or actions; segmentation of videos; and using image or video data in computational processes.
As Orlando’s tech hub evolves, UCF computer vision studies will contribute to the region through strategic investment in AI education, says Mubarak Shah, UCF trustee chair professor of computer science and founding director of UCF’s Center for Research in Computer Vision.
“AI is the future,” Shah says. “It will have much more impact than what [the] Industrial Revolution had on our society.”
UCF has been a leader in computer vision for most of its existence. The university has been home to the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in Computer Vision for 37 consecutive years — the longest-running REU in the nation. It is also the only public university in Florida offering a computer vision master’s degree program, with plans underway to launch an online version of the program.
The Center for Research in Computer Vision is consistently ranked among the top 10 in the country, recognized for conducting prominent research that evolves with the growing field. But to stay competitive with other countries, Shah emphasizes the importance of preparing the nation’s AI workforce.
“The U.S. still has an edge in AI research. However, the majority of AI workforce consists of foreign nationals, who are not eligible to work in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and other national security organizations,” Shah says. “The nation needs to prepare an AI workforce for the future to be competitive with other countries.”
Orlando has a great opportunity to lead the nation in tech sectors, Shah says. In addition to innovative research and strategic partnerships driving tech forward, the city offers enticing advantages for companies considering relocation: no state income tax, a low cost of living and great weather. The Orlando metro area accounted for approximately 74,000 tech workers in 2023 — an increase of 2,000 from the previous year and 9,500 more than five years ago, according to CompTIA, a nonprofit American trade association.
“Orlando can attract some of these tech companies if we can keep strengthening our AI research and education,” Shah says. “This will create lots of new jobs and improve the local and state economy. Our professors and students will continue to create startup companies, which will help Florida’s economy and living standards.”
