Hear from a former student and current staffer about how the IEEE TryEngineering Summer Institute helped her decide on her future:

Hi! I enrolled in the IEEE Try Engineering Summer Institute at Texas A&M University in College Station back in 2018. At the time, I was 16 years old and wanted to do something out of the ordinary that summer. One of my old robotics mentors recommended that I apply to the Try Engineering Summer Institute to gain more experience in engineering while exploring a university. As I was looking into the program, I mentioned it to two of my high school friends— and we all applied. What most attracted me to this program was that I would be able to experiment with different projects and find a specific field of interest in engineering. I also like that while doing so, I could explore one of the top universities I wanted to attend.  

Being accepted into the program was thrilling, and no words can describe such an experience. I recall walking into the Neely Hall Dorms with my two friends from high school, where we were welcomed by the resident assistants, Tahj and Lauren. They asked for our names and escorted us to our dorms. From there, we unpacked and met everyone in the lounge room where we all introduced ourselves, including where we were from. I recall meeting several people from other states and other countries. After meeting everyone, we had many “ice breakers” (activities that allowed us to get to know the other students that were in the program). After the first day of activities/games, the academic part of the program began. We met our two professors of the institution, and they gave us an introduction to what we would be doing. I recall sitting in the class having no clue as to how to solder a resistor to a circuit board at first. Nonetheless, I created my very own circuit board. The professors gave us detailed instructions. Plus, I even got help learning how to use a soldering iron from some other students . While doing so, we were able to bond with one another as we shared a few laughs. That was one of the many activities that I consider both a learning and memorable experience.

Before the program, I always had an interest in robotics and participated in robotics competitions along with other STEM related extracurricular activities. As a high schooler, I was on a journey to search for a field in engineering that I would like to pursue. I had been a member of the robotics club since the 8th grade (middle school) to gain a generalization of robotics engineering. Little did I know, I had a strong fascination with the mechanics of robots. I would constantly stay in robotics practice until late at night to work on different mechanisms to attach to the robots, so that the team could accomplish more tasks to win competitions. At that point, I still was not sure if other engineering fields would be appealing to me. It wasn’t until I enrolled in the Try Engineering Summer Institute, that I knew what field of engineering I wanted to study

Currently, I am in the General Engineering Program at Texas A&M University at Higher Education Center in McAllen where I’m taking the basic engineering courses needed to apply to my desired engineering major. Next semester, I will be transitioning to College Station to pursue a degree in the mechanical engineering program at College Station. Once I do so, I also plan on working towards a minor in electrical engineering in addition to my bachelors degree in mechanical engineering.

My friend from high school, who also attended the Summer Institute in 2018, mentioned how she applied to the program to become a resident assistant. She recommended that I should apply and I did not give it a second thought. I applied the following day because I knew how the resident assistants made it more memorable when I attended the summer institute and I want to do the same for the incoming students. 

I would like to tell the incoming students “ The whole purpose of the camp is to learn, meet new people, and make some long lasting memories.”

See you this summer!

Sincerely, 

Karina (former student and now a new resident assistant and staff member for Summer 2022!)

TheUpverter Education Engineering Essentials course combines interactive curriculum with a powerful, easy to use, web-based tool for editing schematic diagrams and PCB layouts with remote team collaboration.

The collaborative and remote learning features of the Upverter tool and Engineering Essential courses fits perfectly with educator’s goals to introduce and guide students through electronics design and their exploration of technology and engineering. 

The Upverter Education Program is a free resource and features:

• Electronics engineering overview video. Course for all skill levels, including students with no prior exposure to electronics
• A library of completed designs for inspiration and teaching
• Upverter, a professional, easy to use, web-based tool for editing schematic diagrams and PCB layouts with remote team collaboration
• An Upverter YouTube channel with detailed UI navigation videos

Thanks to a number of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions and programs happening all over the world, kids everywhere are sharpening their technical skills. Here are just a few programs that are developing future generations of scientists and engineers:

• A group of high schoolers from Bangladesh won this year’s FIRST Global Challenge robotics competition. “Team Bangladesh” beat teams from 174 countries in three separate challenges. For the “quarantine” challenge, the team built a wifi-controlled robot dubbed “Covitron-1,” which can deliver medicine, food, and other necessities to people under quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the “social media” challenge, they created a video and computer program that spread awareness about STEM. For the “technical challenge,” they designed several devices, including a paper plane launcher, a device that can rescue children from drowning, and a robot that can clean. 
• Through the STEM for Africa Project (S4A), 1,000 children in the town of Hwidiem in Ghana will get “science set” toolkits that can be used for more than 30 experiments. The kits include circuit systems, mini-robots, solar panel models, security alarm systems, and more. The project, which will run for two years, consists of 52,000 hours of STEM education in 10 schools. It will also include 15 STEM clubs. Additionally, 50 girls will be chosen for special mentorship from the STEM Champions in partnership with Synergies Institute – Sankofa Mentorship Hub. Stem for Africa was launched in October by 1 Billion Africa, an African non-profit that encourages kids to become future leaders through innovation and problem solving. 
• In India, 10,000 girls in 100 government schools in the region of Jammu will benefit from the Mastercard Girls4Tech program. The award-winning program’s goal is to put girls on a path to future STEM careers. The program will include online training sessions for girls and teaching resources for teachers and schools. 

View a collection of resources for teachers to encourage students to explore STEM on IEEE TryEngineering’s teacher resources page. If you are looking to get your child hands on experience with STEM you can check out our summer engineering camps where you can learn more about different fields of engineering and

Teach your students about the challenges waste management centers face and different methods they use to sort recycling. Download the lesson plan “Recycling Sorter” today by visiting TryEngineerings website. Click below!

Lesson Focus

Students will learn about the challenges waste management centers face and different methods they use to sort recycling. In small teams, students will brainstorm and design a system to sort a mixed-up recycling bin. Teams will share their designs, and the class will vote on ideas they want to move forward with. The class will then work to build and test a recycling sorter.

Recycling Sorter

Our friends at IEEE Innovation have been looking into the affects of the pandemic on autonomous car growth, and they learned a lot. So many, if not all industries have been affected in some way by the pandemic, and this is just another one to watch.

Click here to read more!