Global innovation center breaks ground at Florida Poly
October 25, 2022 - Construction has kicked off for Fortune 500 company IFF's new Global Citrus Innovation Center at the Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland. The nearly 30,000-square-foot building will support global citrus research and development, and will include sensory and experience venues, research labs, processing, analytical departments, a fully equipped citrus garden and amenities for hosting customers and partners, according to the joint announcement on the groundbreaking. “Our students and faculty are making real contributions in growing the tech industry by influencing the designs of pioneering technologies and real-world solutions. We’re excited about the cross-disciplinary learning opportunities for our students through this partnership in fields such as metabolomics, automation, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and biometric data capture and analysis, to name a few," Florida Poly President Randy Avent said in a news release. The new center is expected to be completed in 2023.