Fun and educational at the Innovative Technologies Summer Camp
Date of publication: 27.8.2018Young technology enthusiasts once again had fun and gained new knowledge at the traditional Innovative Technologies Summer Camp, which took place at the Faculty from 20 to 24 August. 141 primary and secondary school students could choose from 13 thematic workshops in different fields of electrical engineering and multimedia, which ran in parallel from Monday to Friday, under the guidance of experienced faculty mentors, young experts in their fields. Participants had to secure their place in the desired workshop very early on, as places in most of the workshops filled up in the first hour after registration opened. The fact that more than half of the "returnees" are at the camp is proof that the holidays are also a time when young people like to combine the enjoyable with the useful. This means that they have also attended the various workshops at the camp in previous years.
When knowledge and fun join hands
Going to school during the holidays? It may be unthinkable for many, but 141 young minds had a great time at the Innovative Technologies Summer Camp, learning about the world of modern electronics and multimedia. With the help of experienced mentors, they created real apps and products in one week that are useful at home, at school or at a party with friends. The aim of the summer camp is to give young people access to skills and technological equipment that they don't have access to at home or at school. Through practical work, the camp gave young people an insight into the wide range of career options available to them as electrical engineers, and they also went on several excursions to high-tech companies and institutions. "Through the camp, we want to expose young people to working in the field of engineering. They can choose an area of interest from a range of different thematic workshops and spend a week with us learning about working in this field. We show them a project-based approach to problem solving, and they also learn about working in the various research laboratories we have at the Faculty, which they would not otherwise have access to," adds Prof. Dr Roman Kamnik, associate dean for Teaching at the Faculty.
Variety of workshops and finished products
Over the five days, many products were produced, many friendships were forged and the young enthusiasts unanimously agreed that attending the camp was a really great decision. "It's great because we are a small group and we are the only ones who are really interested. That's why the mentors can give us more attention, so we can really do a lot and learn a lot," enthused a participant at the workshop, where they were making a Stirling machine that converts heat energy into mechanical energy. Meanwhile, participants in another workshop were excited to explore the internet of the future - how everyday things (cars, household appliances, meters, watches, etc.) are connected to the internet and what else we can expect in the future. Some made an electric bicycle, while others learned about the whole process of making a video - from idea to product ready for publication, and even got a taste of the real adrenaline rush of live broadcasting. In one workshop, they learned how to code, in another they learned about artificial intelligence in autonomous vehicles, and they built a real mini robot that could be controlled by a microcontroller, as well as their own simple ECG device to measure their heart rate. The choice was really varied, as was the range of finished products at the end of the camp.
