<aside> 🚀 Interested in volunteering with HighTechU? Keep reading to learn more about the programs, what volunteers do, and how to apply. When you’re ready, submit your application here.

</aside>

🚀 What’s HighTechU?

HighTechU is an initiative of the UVic Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Since 2018, we have been dedicated to providing hands-on learning programs for youth who are looking to learn industry-standard skills that they can apply to the real world.

We value:

👫 Diversity

🤝 Teamwork

🔎 Curiosity

🙏🏽 Respect

🚀 Innovation

By working with mentors from industry and university, HighTechU students get inspired to explore diverse pathways in technology, including: Electrical and computer engineering, robotics, software engineering, business and marketing, and UX design.

Our programs take a project-based learning approach to teach students everything they need to design, develop, and pitch their own engineering project.

🔎 What’s the Techccelerator and EngAcademy?

The Techccelerator is a software engineering program where students work in teams to design, build, and pitch a React app.

The EngAcademy is an electrical engineering program where students work in teams to design, build, and pitch an ECE device using Arduino.

Who are the students?

• Students in grades 10-12

When is it?

Cohorts run throughout the year in fall, spring break, spring, and summer. Check our website to see upcoming cohorts.

What’s the point?

There’s 2 main drives behind our programs:

• Students aren’t learning all the skills they need for industry success at school
• Students don’t know what they can do with engineering or how to apply skills they’ve already learnt to the real world

What do students learn?

• Work in a skill-matched team of 2-3 to design, build, deploy, and pitch a React app or ECE device in a startup-like environment
• Build industry-relevant skills such as:
  • Teamwork, problem solving, and project management using Agile methodology
  • UX design and prototyping in Figma
  • Version control with Git/Github
  • Business skills, including pitch presentations, researching competitive advantage, and making a profit
• Explore diverse career pathways in technology:
  • Business, marketing, and project management
  • Software engineering
  • UX design

👩🏽‍🔧 What do volunteers do?

Volunteer mentors are the support staff for the programs. Under the guidance of the Program Coordinator, our volunteers will provide hands-on support and guidance to our student teams and share their expertise. This includes things like:

• Guiding daily team standups and retrospectives
• Providing coding support and troubeshooting
• Supporting creation of business plans
• Supporting UX creation
• Providing feedback on projects
• Acting as a touchstone for students who want to learn more about post-secondary options and/or working in the tech industry