Exploring Technical Careers and College, Programming, Engineering Design, Creative Robotics, and all Hands-On STEM Education Strategies
Virginia Tech's DC Metro Area Thinkabit Lab STEM Education and Workforce Development Programs is the longest-serving collaborator in the Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab network. The mission of our Thinkabit Lab is to serve Washington, D.C. area students, teachers, administrators, parents, and collaborators in technical career exploration and the hands-on electronic and programming foundations of IOT and Smart Cities, AI and robotics automation, sensors, actuators, and data collection and analysis.
In doing so, we are preparing our future STEM workforce and our increasingly diverse, technology-driven community for jobs that may not yet exist. The VT-DC STEM Labs team will work with like-minded teams, organizations and individuals interested in promoting curiosity, innovation, creativity, and students’ self-actualization and self-determination.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
IREX World Smarts STEM Challenge Finalists Visit
On Friday, March 17, students from Africa (Ghana) and partnering students from D.C. area schools participated in more than nine hours of interactive sessions at the Lab. They learned about the kinds of programs that colleges and universities offer, explored a wide range of technical careers, and benefited from hands-on coaching by Thinkabit Lab research faculty on how they could improve their prototypes. They also practiced their presentations together for the first time for the judging event on Saturday at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.