An outreach after-school program to introduce high-school students to electrical engineering

Abstract

We report on a university-based pilot initiative to introduce students in grades 9–12 to electrical engineering practices. The after-school program consisted of two modules of four two-hour sessions and targeted students from two different local schools. They were exposed to hands-on electronic activities as well as programming practices related to image processing. The data collected from weekly surveys revealed that students found the program more challenging and engaging as the course progressed and they were motivated to pursue future engineering study. Additional schools in the region have requested the opportunity for their students to participate in the program at the university.