If every invited guest brought a “plus one,” we’d run out of space (and Bang Bang chicken). So, let’s leave it at this: If you won’t come alone but would come if you could bring a significant other or a fellow researcher, please bring a guest. We'd love to have both of you. No children, please.

We’ll open the doors at 3:45 p.m. If you want the best parking space – more on that in a moment – arrive earlier rather than later. However, we’ll start serving food and beverages at 4

Print and place this parking pass and you can find parking for the event in these lots:

1. The usual UF Innovate | The Hub lot immediately east of the building (entrance on SW 7th Terrace) – Lot G.
2. The lot located immediately behind UF Innovate | The Hub (entrance on SW 3rd Avenue) – Lot F.
3. The lots on the blocks immediately south of our building, accessible from SW 7th Terrace and SW 4th Avenue.
4. All lots offer handicapped parking spaces. If you arrive and need assistance getting to the building, please call or text Sara Dagen at (352) 215-4039.
5. Look for "event parking" signs that will indicate additional spaces.

Limited metered parking and city parking is available on the roads bordering UF Innovate | The Hub.

Clothes, please. And comfortable shoes. I suspect most people will be arriving from work, so your work clothes are likely fine. Many guests will stand during most of the event, although we will have some seating. We will be inside and outside for much of the event, walking on patio concrete or tile floors. We want you to be comfortable – maybe not pajamas and slippers comfy – and prepared for heat or cold or humidity. Whichever variable Florida weather provides that afternoon and evening.

We will follow UF’s standards for the event. If you feel more comfortable wearing a mask, please feel free to do so. The event will take place both inside and outside UF Innovate | The Hub, with beverages and food stations both inside and outside. We will try to keep the formal presentation portion of the event succinct, so you won’t have to linger indoors if being in a large group concerns you.

If you park behind the building, it might be easier to enter through the back door. You can! We'll be there to greet you. If you enter at the front of the building, we'll be there to greet you as well.

Well, yes. Please print the parking pass mentioned above. You do not have to print your registration confirmation, but if people often have difficulty spelling or understanding your name when you say it, a printed registration with your name might help. We will have name badges pre-printed at the check-in tables.

We will have alcoholic drinks at the event, and if you don't look like my grandmother or her father, you might be asked for proof of age when you check-in. Otherwise, no ID is necessary.

Yes, of course! The more time at Standing InnOvation, the merrier you! We’re presenting awards about 5:45, but colleges will have kiosks where they’ll present the latest and greatest innovations of all time. We’ll start serving hearty appetizers and beverages at 4 p.m., and you don’t want to miss the spring rolls.

Ah! We were hoping to keep something a surprise for you, but here’s the lowdown:

1. Check-in, get a nametag, get a beverage and some appetizers.
2. Tour the building to engage with the different technologies presented by the colleges at their kiosks, oooh and aaah over the (amazing!) awards our innovators will receive, and network with old and new friends.
3. A little after 5:30, find a place to stand near the stage. (We will have some chairs available. Otherwise, choose your spot to stand.) You might get the best view of the stage on the second floor (and you might find the caterer has hidden a table of appetizers up there, too).
4. Listen and watch the short program welcoming our newest innovators, honoring six inventions of the year, and one innovator of the year. Be ready to applaud (without spilling your beverage, if possible).
5. Enjoy more of our international menu – stations around the building, inside and out, plus servers walking around with trays. Visit our beverage stations.
6. Network with colleagues and make new friends. (And say thank you to our three sponsors, Wolf Greenfield, Alston Bird, and Thomas | Horstemeyer, all intellectual property attorneys who serve our innovators and us well.)

No, no but also yes. If you are an innovator who disclosed, licensed or optioned technologies or received an issued U.S. patent in FY23, you do need to accept an award, but we won’t make you come up on stage or give a speech to receive it. At a magical moment during the evening, we will invite you to pick up your award(s) on display in the lobby. We will invite the selected Innovator of the Year to the stage to speak and will bring the teams receiving an Invention of the Year award to the stage to receive an award, but the other recipients can stay on solid ground. Most of the event is intended for enjoying refreshments and each other in a lovely space. But if you’re an innovator, you won’t leave empty-handed.

We are not livestreaming the event this year because we’re trying to provide an equitable experience for all our guests, and video and in-person events are not created equal. (Livestreamers can’t taste the meatballs, for example, or see what’s happening on the porch or under the tent if the camera’s only in the lobby.) You, however, can visit all areas and try our caterer’s fabulous fare. (It’s better than alliterative; it’s delicious!) We’ll have a take-home token too (more alliteration – and also delicious).

Pretty much, but you’ll select what and how much you’ll eat. We’ll have hearty appetizers from all over the world – a variety that will include some vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options for those with dietary restrictions. We'll have a variety of beer and wine and non-alcoholic beverages as well.

You should receive an email reminder prior to the event meant to remind you of the event and any last-minute instructions. You can save this web address to check back for information as well – such as updates on weather that could affect our event. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Sara Dagen, our fearless leader, at saradagen@ufl.edu or (352) 294-0998.