This summer, the engineering department at Sonoma State University launched its second Engineering Summer Camp virtually. This year’s camp was limited to only one cohort with twelve students, ranging from sophomores to seniors, from different high schools, mostly in Sonoma County.
The purpose of this hands-on program was to introduce the students to engineering design, innovation, analysis, planning, teamwork and communication skills in a fun and creative virtual environment. All participants received their own electronic kits. Throughout the two-week-long session, the students created exciting projects, including Bluetooth enabled robotic car, light tracking system, and much more. They also created their first working smartphone application. For majority of the campers, this was their first experience with electrical circuits, sensors, and Arduino programming.
The students were required to attend the morning Zoom sessions for 40 minutes and then they had the opportunity to interact with the Engineering student mentors 2-3 hours a day in case they had any problem completing their projects.
Some of the campers were amazed at what they had accomplished! In the final class survey one student wrote: "The camp has been an amazing experience. Building and programming the car on my own with clear precise instructions was awesome."
Another student wrote: "I took this class because I wanted to get some electrical engineering experience and decide if it’s a career I might want to pursue in the future. I had a lot of fun during this experience and would definitely recommend this to other students."
"Due to the pandemic, we initially were not sure if we should offer the Engineering Summer Camp this summer. But after talking to various local teachers, we realized that having an online camp in which participants can actually build their own electronic projects can in fact be exciting to many bored students!" noted Dr. Sudhir Shrestha, an Engineering faculty at SSU and the lead instructor for the camp.
"This year’s virtual Engineering Camp would not have been possible without dedication and hard work of four of Engineering students mentors: Gaven Hayden-Town, Rania Saba, Alexander Sneed, Andres Rivera. Sometimes they were assisting the campers via Zoom until 8 pm! We are so proud to have such mazing engineering students in our program!" emphasized Farid Farahmand, chair of the Engineering Department.
The funding for this program was provided by Keysight Technologies, Inc., a long-time supporter of the engineering program at Sonoma State University.
"The current partnership between Keysight Technologies and Sonoma State University is a prime example of how the local high-tech industry and universities can work together to create stronger career pathways for diverse group of students to high-demand local employment. In return, these new professionals can contribute their skills, knowledge and talents to the local community and its economy," acknowledged Hamish Gray, Senior Vice President at Keysight Technologies, Inc.