Quintino De Sousa transferred to UF last Spring as part of the first Innovation Academy transfer class.
IA, a program in which students take classes on campus during Spring and Summer, began accepting transfer applications in Spring 2015, wrote Jeff Citty, the director of IA, in an email. Of the 851 students currently enrolled in IA, six transfer students were admitted in Spring 2015, and 11 were admitted this semester.
Spring is the only semester during which transfer students can apply for the program.
Citty said he wanted the program to be accessible for transfer students who could bring new ideas to IA.
“Going forward, we look to increase opportunities to transfer students,” he said.
De Sousa, 25, said he transferred into IA because he wanted to be an entrepreneur. He also liked that IA students get to register for classes a few weeks before other students.
While the UF advertising junior said he didn’t know what IA entailed when he applied, he thought it would look impressive on his resume. He transferred from Florida Gulf Coast University because they didn’t have an advertising program.
Now he is in his third semester of the program. De Sousa said he has mixed feelings about it.
“I’m still kind of in a fog about what IA is about, ” he said.
De Sousa said he likes taking classes in Spring and Summer because he prefers spending summers in Gainesville and the holidays with his family in Naples, Florida.
But he said he didn’t know he couldn’t take Fall classes on campus when he applied to IA.
“I really didn’t understand the schedule, but when I found out about it, I was ecstatic,” De Sousa said.
He also said when he started classes, he felt frustrated with the IA program because it didn’t focus heavily on entrepreneurship.
His parents, who he says have about 100 patents for different inventions, encouraged him to be an entrepreneur from a young age.
He said he didn’t think some of the students wanted to be in the entrepreneurship classes.
“I felt like the majority of the students didn’t really take it too serious,” he said. “They’re kind of stuck (in the minor).”
Despite his frustrations, De Sousa said he doesn’t regret transferring into the IA program.
He said the schedule and opportunities to network with other IA students make it worth it.
“I know it’s still a new program, and probably in 10 years it’s going to be the most sought-out program,” he said.
