I love to help other students, and I believe that tutoring them also reinforces my skills and techniques.
Outreach and helping others are longtime priorities for College of Computing faculty, staff, and students. From hands-on youth learning experiences and building digital literacy in adults to peoplecentric research and staying in touch with the needs of industry, our passion for computing drives us to get out of the classroom and into the community.
BASIC, Building Adult Skills in Computing
As the digital revolution continues to transform our society, many older adults and other groups are being left behind. To help close this knowledge gap, on Saturday mornings during the academic year a group of Michigan Tech students and faculty can be found at the Portage Lake District Library, Houghton.
They’re with the Department of Computer Science’s outreach program,
BASIC—Building Adult Skills in Computing. Now in its 11th year, BASIC provides tutoring to technological newcomers and others looking to expand their digital skills. Michigan Tech students benefit from the program, too
Student Mitchell Eckstrand has been a BASIC tutor for several years. He says, “If I can do my part to help other people feel more comfortable with their devices or other tasks that they’re doing on their computer, then it’s rewarding for me.”
Copper Country Coders
Since 2011, Copper Country Coders has given middle and high school students a low-stakes, fun opportunity to gain programming experience and build a broader view of how computer science fits in with life and career.
Started by faculty members, for several years the outreach has been led by undergraduate students. The Tech students are fully in charge of the program, from identifying the classes they’ll teach to drawing up lesson plans and conducting the classes to end-of-semester reflections about how they can improve. The undergraduates build communication, teamwork, and leadership skills while reinforcing their understanding of the concepts they are teaching to the students.
“Being a part of Coders meant a lot to me,” says student Laura Albrant, who was Copper Country Coders president in 2021-22. “It taught me the value of patience and positive reinforcement, and I felt like I was giving back to the local community. I also made many friends with fellow student leaders/teachers.”
Women in Computer Science
Young women, too, don’t always have opportunities to learn about computing careers or to meet role models in the field. And without that, many don’t gain the background they need to consider computing as a career.
To change that, since 2000, the Women in Computer Science (WiCS) Summer Youth Programs (SYP) exploration has reached dozens of high school girls with the message that computing careers are for women, too.
Organized by Linda Ott and the computer science department, WiCS helps
young women learn more about computing and the opportunities it offers.
GenCyber Summer Camps
Another summer camp experience—GenCyber— reaches out to K-12 students and teachers. The grant-funded program helps participants understand safe on-line behavior and learn fundamental cybersecurity concepts, also serving to increase interest in cybersecurity careers and share teaching methods for delivering cybersecurity content in K-12 curricula.
The GenCyber camps are managed by the applied computing department and SYP, and presented by faculty and students. College outreach also happens on campus. Open to all Michigan Tech students in computing classes, student tutors in the College of Computing Learning Center
(CCLC) help their fellow students succeed through free one-on-one help sessions.
“I consider this an opportunity to strengthen my communication and leadership skills,” says computer science major Xiaojie Chen, a CCLC coach. “I love to help other students, and I believe that tutoring them also reinforces my skills and techniques.”
CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service
Also on campus, CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service (SFS), a five-year, $3.3 million project funded by the National Science Foundation, will fund scholarships for 20 students. The program provides up to three years of full scholarship support for undergraduate and graduate students studying cybersecurity at Michigan Tech.
The cross-disciplinary SFS program is coordinated and conducted by multiple departments and faculty across campus. SFS student Thad Sander, cybersecurity, says of the SFS the program, “This opportunity means a lot. It gives me the funds to focus on my education instead of juggling a job at the same time.”
Advisory Boards and the Computing[MTU] Showcase
Keeping up with industry changes is also critical to preparing students for careers in today’s constantly changing workplace.
College and department advisory boards meet regularly to advise leadership on topics including academic success, job readiness, and making sure program curricula are up to date.
And finally, the Computing[MTU] Showcase, presented annually by the College of Computing and the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC), reaches out to campus and community to share the success and initiatives of researchers, students, and alumni.
Activities include lectures, workshops, discussion panels, a poster competition, networking opportunities, and more. Our next Computing[MTU] Showcase is in October 2023.