2008 Woodie Awards
Siemens, UCF to partner on $850,000 center
John Murphy
Issue date: 10/24/08 Section: News
UCF and Germany-based Siemens Energy have expanded their long-running partnership by establishing the new Siemens Energy Center on the UCF campus.
The facility, which cost $850,000 to build and spans 10,900 sq. ft., on the south, will be focusing on the corporate giant's energy sector, one of three areas in which Siemens specializes. The others are health care and industry.
"I think this was a case where there was a great match between two organizations that shared a common goal in terms of partnerships for technology development," said Vinod Philip, Siemens Energy Director.
The partnership between the university and Siemens began 10 years ago, when the company moved across the street from the campus. It started out as a means to conduct small research between individual engineers at Siemens and professors at UCF. Over the 10-year span that UCF has been working together with the company, Siemens Power Generation has donated $3 million to research in the field of energy to UCF and of the 3,500 employees that work for Siemens in the Orlando area, about 400 of them are graduates of the University.
"The Siemens Energy Center was almost like a logical evolution of this relationship," Philip said.
The research efforts at the center will focus primarily on the issues of energy conservation and efficiency.
Philip said that the decision to bring a new facility to UCF was four-fold, focusing on four key aspects that will benefit both Siemens and the university: research and development, human resources, financial and commercial gain, and an avenue to give back to the community.
One of the most important of these aspects, according to Philip, is the access of students as potential fresh faces to join the Siemens community.
"Siemens, being a growing company, is always looking for highly qualified and skilled engineers, and there's no better way to bring in highly qualified, skilled people than tapping them early," Philip said. "So developing a channel with a partner who can supply those human resources is a good second benefit."
The facility, which cost $850,000 to build and spans 10,900 sq. ft., on the south, will be focusing on the corporate giant's energy sector, one of three areas in which Siemens specializes. The others are health care and industry.
"I think this was a case where there was a great match between two organizations that shared a common goal in terms of partnerships for technology development," said Vinod Philip, Siemens Energy Director.
The partnership between the university and Siemens began 10 years ago, when the company moved across the street from the campus. It started out as a means to conduct small research between individual engineers at Siemens and professors at UCF. Over the 10-year span that UCF has been working together with the company, Siemens Power Generation has donated $3 million to research in the field of energy to UCF and of the 3,500 employees that work for Siemens in the Orlando area, about 400 of them are graduates of the University.
"The Siemens Energy Center was almost like a logical evolution of this relationship," Philip said.
The research efforts at the center will focus primarily on the issues of energy conservation and efficiency.
Philip said that the decision to bring a new facility to UCF was four-fold, focusing on four key aspects that will benefit both Siemens and the university: research and development, human resources, financial and commercial gain, and an avenue to give back to the community.
One of the most important of these aspects, according to Philip, is the access of students as potential fresh faces to join the Siemens community.
"Siemens, being a growing company, is always looking for highly qualified and skilled engineers, and there's no better way to bring in highly qualified, skilled people than tapping them early," Philip said. "So developing a channel with a partner who can supply those human resources is a good second benefit."
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