2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Many colleges and universities across the globe offer pre-college programs to high school students. Such programs aim to provide opportunities for students to gain exposure to college by attending a program related to a college major or area of interest, exploring research inquiry, enhancing their skills, and becoming more informed to make better decisions about their intended college major in the not-too-distant future. This paper details the development, implementation, and outcome of a pre-college summer program held at our university. The two-week-long program, modeled after college-level courses, had a mix of rising juniors and seniors. The students resided on campus and attended laboratory sessions four days a week, in two three-hour periods each day. The topics covered included the basics of robotics and key modules such as sensors, actuators, kinematics, obstacle avoidance, and trajectory planning. Each session started with a short lecture providing an overview of the activities and relevant theory. Students then worked on several platforms over the two-week camp, including robotic arm manipulators, mobile robots, and a four-legged robot. Simultaneously, students worked in groups on a research project that focused on proposing a robotic design to address a real-world problem. The students entered the camp with different levels of prior experience. Out of eleven participants, 36% had no prior experience participating in robotics camps and competitions. Between 45% and 63% of the participants reported no or beginner-level knowledge in programming, circuits, or mechanical designs. A combined 81% reported being very and somewhat satisfied with the program with 55% agreeing that the learning outcomes met their expectations. In the future, we could modify the breadth and depth of topics based on student recommendations, needs, and background. This type of program can offer relevant knowledge and hands-on learning experience to high school students in an immersive environment and thus better equip them for pathways toward higher education and career.