Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science will once again host a two-week program to encourage young girls to learn more about engineering topics.

Project ENGAGE is a summer camp for girls entering eighth and ninth grade that focuses on different areas of engineering. This year’s program is expanded from past years.

Carol Stokes-Cawley, the program coordinator for Project ENGAGE, emphasized that the program is unique in the sense that it offers participants the opportunity to study one specific area of engineering. All the classes feed into that one area with one weeklong project giving students the opportunity to create an actual product using what they’ve learned, she said.

Stokes-Cawley described the project’s growth since its first year, saying it began with 20 girls per week but has since grown to 32 per week, she said. This year, the program will host 32 rising eighth graders the first week and 32 rising ninth graders the second week.

Other changes have also taken place since the first year as well, such as funding for the program, Stokes-Cawley said.

The first year, the Siemens Foundation funded everything and the program took girls from New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. That year, the program was also free for all participants, Stokes-Cawley said. This year, Project ENGAGE does not have a major funder. As a result, they are opening it up to anyone from across the country. In addition, participants will be charged $400 for the week to participate.

Tom McCausland, former chairman of the Siemens Foundation, said while he held the position that he was looking for ways to spur interest in science and engineering for young girls.

“We wanted a program that would expose them to what goes on in the engineering and scientific world, and how applying those talents could create solutions,” he said.

Project ENGAGE provided him a channel through which to promote the foundation’s mission of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, McCausland said.

He added that most of the big issues of the day, such as climate change, alternative energy and medical technology, all have solutions embedded in science. Central New York, he said, offers plentiful opportunities for STEM education with companies like Welch Allyn in Skaneateles and Lockheed Martin in Liverpool.

Stokes-Cawley thinks there is plenty of room for growth in Project ENGAGE as well. There is the potential of adding a third week focused on cyber security for girls entering 10th grade, she said. She mentioned the possibility of collaborating with Fayetteville Public Library, which has a program for younger girls, and the possibility of developing a “pipeline of girls coming through and getting excited about engineering.”

Stokes-Cawley said because other programs are taking place across campus during the summer, space is limited in terms of rooms and labs. But, she said if other departments outside of engineering wanted to join the program, that would be a possible alternative.

McCausland thinks a program like Project ENGAGE is a step in the right direction for reaching children and encouraging them to pursue scientific careers.

“Just understanding technology is important,” he said. Whether or not students wind up in a specific field like engineering, he said it is important to understand that technology widely influences everyday life.

Published on January 21, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Danny: dmantoot@syr.edu