2019-2020 Meeting Professionals Guide - 12

HUB for BUSINESS
© 2019 GuideWell Innovation Center

& technology
Reaching New Heights for Success

Orlando is famously known as the Theme
Park Capital of the World®, but we're far
more than that. We've also earned bragging
rights as a world-class business hub,
racking up some impressive commendations along the way, all thanks in part to
our entrepreneurial culture, booming technology and medical communities.
Looking to super-charge your medical
meeting with idea-sharing and an energized business scene? Orlando features a
thriving life-sciences and healthcare
sector, playing host to some of the largest
medical meetings in the country. One of
its biggest attractors in that regard is Lake
Nona Medical City, a 650-acre complex
in southeast Orlando that serves as a collaborative hub for technology and life
sciences. Lake Nona hosts two hospitals,
a highly acclaimed NIH research facility, a
top biomedical research enterprise, and
two university medical campuses.
Lake Nona often plays host to medical
meetings, with the new, 92,000-square-foot
GuideWell Innovation Center providing
a wealth of services and amenities for techand healthcare-focused organizations.
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GuideWell features a public gallery showcasing rotating exhibits and the latest
technology solutions - from wearable
devices that send alerts to family members
when you're having a seizure, to two-way
mirrors that connect to your email.
Groups typically hold breakfasts or cocktail parties in the gallery, while resident
scientists provide live demonstrations of
the technologies. The space also lends
itself to dramatic productions: One group
held a cocktail party where live models
became part of the exhibit, doing yoga
poses on elevated platforms.
Lake Nona serves as a speakers' bureau,
too, working directly with medical meeting
planners to help them book experts on a
variety of topics.
From multinational corporations like
Siemens Energy to midsize firms and
incubators, Orlando's advanced manufacturing industry is also flourishing. Our
innovative spirit is showcased with BRIDG,
formerly known as the International
Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research. Located on a 20-acre site
about 30 minutes from Walt Disney World®
Resort, it works to accelerate the development of emerging technologies while sparking tomorrow's innovations.

Orlando Destination Specialists: 800-643-0482

Known as the simulation capital of the
world, Orlando plays host to the world's
largest Modeling, Simulation & Training
Cluster. Consisting of more than 100
companies, including Lockheed Martin, it
provides simulation, training, modeling,
and virtual and augmented reality research
for military and commercial purposes.
Entrepreneurs are thriving here, too, with
investors and dreamers arriving in droves.
Orlando was ranked 22nd for startup
density for all metros in the U.S., according to The Kauffman Index of Startup
Activity. A prime example of this phenomenon is Canvs, a shared, nonprofit
complex that houses more than 100 techrelated startups.
Meeting professionals have long been attracted to Orlando's business climate,
which is why companies like SAP, Microsoft, the Association of Financial Professionals, and the American Academy of
Family Physicians keep coming back. And
attendees aren't just spectators on the business scene. Entrepreneurs and business
leaders often can be tapped as speakers and
participants on conference panels, and
many of the city's high-profile business
communities offer tours, meeting space and
collaborative opportunities to select groups.

2019-2020 Meeting Professionals Guide

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2019-2020 Meeting Professionals Guide