Florida Conference Institute for Leadership and Innovation

Florida Conference Institute for Leadership and Innovation Reimagining Education Through Innovation. STEM+C Research. Social Innovation. Entrepreneurship.

Innovation by Design: Luna (8th Grade) and Rihanny (7th Grade), second-year innovation students at Forest City Adventist...
03/06/2026

Innovation by Design: Luna (8th Grade) and Rihanny (7th Grade), second-year innovation students at Forest City Adventist School, are exploring solutions in the Alzheimer’s space. Inspired by Luna’s grandmother, who is living with Alzheimer’s disease, the duo are working to develop an AI-powered solution that addresses a real-world challenge associated with the condition.

Today, they worked on their MVP 2 prototype and their Innovation Research Brief, continuing to refine their concept through iterative development.

Because meaningful innovation does not happen overnight, nor within nine weeks or even a single semester, the FLCOE Innovation Scholars will have the opportunity to develop their solutions over multiple years, continuing their work through graduation from high school and continue the research at one of our 13 partner universities.

Throughout their journey, they will be mentored by physicians and research scientists from AdventHealth University, Loma Linda University, and the Andrews University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Cultivating Innovators!

Forest City Academy is a member of the FLCOE (Florida Conference Office of Education) AE4™ (Adventist Education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution) Magnet Innovation School-within-a-School Network. AE4™ is an initiative of the FLCOE Institute for Leadership and Innovation, the research and development arm of the Florida Conference Office of Education. www.flcoeinnovation.org www.Innovusinnovation.org.org ,

Amazing Day. Three FLCOE Innovation Scholars participated in an Advanced Robotic Surgery Course conducted by Peter Carne...
01/31/2026

Amazing Day. Three FLCOE Innovation Scholars participated in an Advanced Robotic Surgery Course conducted by Peter Carnegie, CEO of Minimally Invasive Solutions. The event was held at the AdventHealth Celebration Nicholson Center.
Held several times a year, this transformational out-of-school experience has impacted the lives of countless Central Florida youth. During the event, students worked alongside cardiac surgeons as they learned how to use the Da Vinci Robotic System to perform mitral valve surgery on a cadaver.
Minimally Invasive Solutions is an industry partner of the FLCOE Institute for Leadership and Innovation, the research and development arm of the Florida Conference Office of Education, and the AE4 (Adventist Education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution) School Network. Cultivating Innovators! www.flcoeinnovation.org www.innovusinnovation.com

Excited to share that this week, under the leadership of Principal Charlene Curet, Orlando Junior Academy (OJA), Orlando...
01/23/2026

Excited to share that this week, under the leadership of Principal Charlene Curet, Orlando Junior Academy (OJA), Orlando, FL, launched its new Innovation Lab. I am thrilled to see what the students in my AE4™ (Adventist Education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution) Fundamentals of Innovation, Mechatronics, and Entrepreneurship course will create, and the real-world problems they will solve.

OJA is a member of the FLCOE (Florida Conference Office of Education) AE4™ Innovation Magnet School-within-a-School Network, which provides students the opportunity to design personalized, multi-year innovation pathways beginning in sixth grade and extending through university, a K-20+ educational experience.

As a member of the FLCOE (Florida Conference Office of Education) AE4™ Innovation Magnet School-within-a-School Network, OJA is a Loma Linda University EXSEED Affiliate School, an AdventHealth University Partner School, an Andrews University Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Partner, and an Oakwood University Department of Biological Sciences Partner School. Cultivating Innovators! www.flcoeinnovation.org -20+

I recently had the privilege of hosting Leona Bange, Superintendent of the Indiana Conference, along with staff from Ind...
01/14/2026

I recently had the privilege of hosting Leona Bange, Superintendent of the Indiana Conference, along with staff from Indiana Academy, for a close-up look at AE4 (Adventist Education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution) the Florida Conference Office of Education Innovation Program.
Their visit included tours of the innovation programs at North Tampa Christian Academy (led by Ronnie Pitman and Amanda Darsey), Forest Lake Academy (led by Karlene Perry), Forest Lake Education Center (led by Marina Acevedo), and Innovus, the FLCOE Innovation Center. Each stop showcased student-led innovation ventures in which K–12 learners engage in multi-year innovation pathways to solve real-world problems.
The visit was inspired by a Design Thinking and AE4 presentation that I delivered at the Andrews University / Lake Union Conference STEM training event for educators on September 4, which Leona Bange and Arthur Miller attended.
Grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with forward-thinking leaders who are reimagining Adventist education for a rapidly changing world. I look forward to continuing this partnership and welcoming the Indiana Conference into the AE4™ Network. AE4 is a product of the FLCOE Institute for Leadership and Innovation. Cultivating Innovators! www.flcoeinnovation.com

Adventist Education develops Industry 4.0 Leaders: Meet Andrew Pierre-Antoine, my former student and alumnus of the Flor...
01/03/2026

Adventist Education develops Industry 4.0 Leaders: Meet Andrew Pierre-Antoine, my former student and alumnus of the Florida Conference Office of Education AE4™ (Adventist Education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution) Innovation Scholar Program. During his freshman year at Embrey-Riddle University, Daytona, FL., where he is now a senior majoring in Aerospace Engineering, Andrew became a Patty Grace Smith Fellow and garnered an internship at Airbus Defense in Merritt Island, Florida.

This is an extraordinary accomplishment, as competitive engineering internships are typically awarded to upper-division students, not college freshmen. Andrew competed against thousands of students from across the United States and was one of only 31 students selected as a Patti Grace Smith Fellow. He currently serves as president of the Embry-Riddle chapter of NSBE and is giving back to the community by mentoring young people who aspire to pursue STEM careers.

Andrew credits his ability to become a Patty Grayce Smith Fellow and engage in an early internship as college freshman to his multi-year participation in the AE4™ Innovation Scholar Program, where he gained industry-standard skills including Scrum, CAD (Computer-Aided Design), Design Thinking, basic mechatronics, C++ programming, and rapid prototyping. He also learned to work with the Arduino microcontroller and Autodesk Fusion 360, skills that directly contributed to his ability to secure these prestigious internships.

His story reflects findings from a recent qualitative pilot study showing that Florida Conference students who engaged in AE4™ for three or more years were able to secure industry internships during their freshman year of college. By contrast, students who participated only in traditional STEM+C pathways, such as standard coursework, robotics clubs, short-term STEM camps, or extracurricular STEM activities, did not secure comparable internships during their collegiate careers.

While at Forest Lake Academy, Andrew designed his own competency-based education course where he designed a built a drone from scratch and designed a prototyped a VR Physical Therapy applicaiton. Andrew’s three-year AE4™ Innovation Scholar journey began during his sophomore year high school at Forest Lake Academy in Apopka, FL. where he participated in the FLA Innovation Program (2019–2022).

AE4™ innovation scholars are required to develop a solution to a real-world problem in a multi-year setting. The scholars have the freedom to choose their innovation venture and a paired with industry mentors and research scientists and professor from one of our 13 partner universities.

The Florida Conference AE4™ Innovation Scholar Program is a school-Within-a-School model developed and operated by the Florida Conference Institute for Leadership and Innovation (FCILI), the R&D arm of the Florida Conference Office of Education. The program equips students with the competencies needed to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and serves students in grades 5–12 attending Florida Conference schools or Innovus, the Florida Conference Innovation Center. Andrew participated in the program for three years, developing both deep technical competence and professional confidence. Cultivating Innovators! www.flcoeinnovation.com

Adventist Education, y’all! Meet Aiden Forbes, an alumnus of the Florida Conference Office of Educaiton AE4™ (Adventist...
12/13/2025

Adventist Education, y’all! Meet Aiden Forbes, an alumnus of the Florida Conference Office of Educaiton AE4™ (Adventist Education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution) Innovation Scholar Program. Last summer, after completing just his freshman year at Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, TN, where he is pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aiden secured an early industry internship at Osborn Engineering, Inc., an opportunity traditionally reserved for juniors and seniors.
Aiden attributes his ability to earn this internship directly to his participation in the AE4™ Innovation Scholar Program. This experience reflects findings from a recent pilot qualitative study, which found that early industry internships were secured exclusively by Florida Conference graduates who completed two or more years in the Florida Conference AE4™ Innovation Scholar Program and therefore qualified as AE4™ alumni. By contrast, students who participated only in traditional STEM pathways, such as high school STEM coursework, clubs, short term STEM camps, robotics, etc., without the multi-year AE4™ experience did not secure early industry internships.
As an Innovation Scholar, he learned to use industry-standard tools and frameworks, including Autodesk Fusion 360, the Arduino microcontroller platform, C++, Scrum, Design Thinking, additive (3D) printing, etc., to solve authentic, real-world problems.
Throughout his multi-year innovation journey (2019-2023), Aiden, along with fellow Innovation Scholars, co-launched a design company and contributed to the development of products for Minimally Invasive Solutions and Big O Fish Lights. Aiden is one of several AE4™ alumni who secured early industry internships during their freshman year of college. Aiden also credits his participation in the Innovation Scholar Program with helping him discover his calling.
The Florida Conference AE4™ Innovation Scholar Program is a school-within-a-school model developed and operated by the Florida Conference Institute for Leadership and Innovation, a division of the Florida Conference Office of Education, and is available to students in grades 5–12 attending a Florida Conference school or Innovus, the Florida Conference Innovation Center. Aiden participated in the program for four years while attending Forest Lake Academy, building both technical competence and professional confidence. Cultivating Innovators!

I received the note pictured above from a young lady at the end of an Arduino workshop I conducted last week for 49 stud...
11/05/2025

I received the note pictured above from a young lady at the end of an Arduino workshop I conducted last week for 49 students in grades 5–8 from West Palm Junior Academy. At the beginning of every event, I remind the young people that God has a special plan for their lives by sharing the following verses with them:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a [leader] to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
“A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.” Proverbs 18:16

I tell them that He has given each of them unique gifts, gifts that are not always discovered in traditional schooling, and encourage them to ask Him to reveal both their gifts and His plan for their lives.

The most important message I want them to leave with is this: they are not too young to do big things for Him.
These young innovators will be using the Arduino platform to design functional prototypes that address real-world problems guided by the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. They will showcase their work at the FLCOE InnovationX Academic and Research Challenge in Orlando on April 17. Cultivating Innovators!

Exciting! Orlando Junior Academy innovation students began their CAD (Computer Aided Design) journey today. One of the...
10/22/2025

Exciting! Orlando Junior Academy innovation students began their CAD (Computer Aided Design) journey today. One of their deliverables is to create a functional prototype of a medical device to address pusher syndrome. Using CAD, they will design the prototype and eventually 3D print the design. The young innovators are enrolled in my AE4 (Adventist Education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution) Fundamentals of Innovation, Mechatronics and Entrepreneurship. Cultivating Innovators!

It’s never too early for students to become robotic engineers! Last week at the FLCOE (Florida Conference Office of Educ...
07/20/2025

It’s never too early for students to become robotic engineers! Last week at the FLCOE (Florida Conference Office of Education) Innovus Innovation Center, students ages 7 to 9 explored the world of robotics by learning the Design Thinking process, programming with Blockly, and building their own robots. The week ended with a parent showcases. The FLCOE Innovation Center is an initiative of the FCLOE Institute for Leadership and Innovation. Cultivating Innovators!
www.flcoeinnovation.org www.innovationinnovation.com
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Last week’s FLCOE (Florida Conference Office of Education) Innovus Python + Robotics Camp featuring the XRP (Experimenta...
07/20/2025

Last week’s FLCOE (Florida Conference Office of Education) Innovus Python + Robotics Camp featuring the XRP (Experimental Robotics Platform) from SparkFun was truly incredible! The FLCOE Innovuvs Innovation Center is an initiative of the FLCOE Institute for Leadership and Innovation. Cultivating Innovators!
www.flcoeinnovation.org www.innovationinnovation.com
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