2024 Summer Technical Workshops

Rising 9th - 12th graders can apply to attend one of two workshop weeks. Columbia area residents will be expected to commute daily, but some accommodations are available for those who express a need to reside on-campus.

Week 1
June 10 - June 14
Sunday, June 9: Evening check-in for rising 10^th - 12^th grade residents
Monday, June 10 - Friday, June 14: Daily check-in for 9^th - 12^th grade commuters

Week 2
June 24 - June 28
Sunday, June 23: Evening check-in for rising 10^th - 12^th grade residents
Monday, June 24 - Friday, June 28: Daily check-in for 9^th - 12^th grade commuters

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About the Summer Workshops

The Partners for Minorities in Engineering and Computer Science (PMECS) summer technical workshop is a program designed to address the critical need of motivating minority students to enter and successfully complete post-secondary education in the fields of engineering and computer science. The workshop will be a five day session to be held at the University of South Carolina, Columbia campus focused on aiding in preparing the students for college, help develop their communication skills, enhance their technical background, and to prepare the students to move successfully from the relatively supervised environment of high school to the self-disciplined collegiate and corporate environment.

PMECS Summer Technical Workshops are held on the campus of the University of South Carolina during the summer of each year. Up to 120 students participate in each workshop every year.

For all workshops, emphasis will be placed on deductive and inductive thinking through creative problem solving. The activities are designed to be fun and challenging. The objectives of the seminar include:

1. Stimulating increased interest in applied math and science problems.
2. Familiarizing academically qualified minority students with career opportunities in engineering and engineering-related fields.
3. Informing students of the high school prerequisites necessary for eventually entering a college of engineering.
4. Inspiring students toward excellence in their high school course work.

A closing ceremony will be prepared for participants and their parents on the final day of the workshop. The program will serve as an opportunity for parents to meet the coordinator and volunteers who can offer encouragement in fostering students’ academic excellence and in ensuring that the students choose a high school curriculum which will leave all options open. High-achieving minority students will be honored after their fourth year in the program

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Freshmen/Sophomore Workshops

The primary focus of this workshop is to introduce the students to the many fields of engineering and the opportunities that can be derived from them. Test taking strategies will be shared to reinforce mathematics and verbal skills. Additionally, the students will be involved in "hands-on" activities that are experiments and challenges that reinforced engineering activities covered in the classroom lecture environment.

Junior/Senior Workshops

These workshops concentrate on "in-depth" studies of the various engineering fields. Visits will be made to corporate member sites and the workshops will be geared more toward real "hands-on" applications. This will include the actual shadowing of various engineers, and active involvement in the civil/environmental engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electronics/radio laboratories. The students will also receive "hands-on" computer training that includes basic computer operations and programming, and Microsoft Office Product experience.

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