Up to 12 area high school students will have the chance to take a free, after-school robotics class this school year offered by the University of Houston-Victoria.
Students can apply now for the course that will teach them programming language and how to program robots to complete tasks.
The 2019-2020 Robotics, Programming and Simulation Course will begin Oct. 14 and will last all school year in the Robotics Lab in UHV University North, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. The application deadline is Oct. 9, and the class will meet from 5 to 6:30 p.m. each Monday. The class is funded through a grant from Alcoa Foundation.
“UHV is fortunate to have supporters like Alcoa Foundation who are willing to invest in educational opportunities for the community,” said Jeffrey Di Leo, dean of the UHV School of Arts & Sciences. “The robotics class has helped many high school students discover their love for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and I am pleased to see it continue this year.”
UHV previously offered an after-school class that lasted one semester, but this year’s class will last through the school year to give students more time to learn about and explore the possibilities of programming and functions that can be completed by robots, said Amjad Nusayr, a UHV assistant professor of computer science who will lead the class.
During the class, students will learn Python programming language, which they will use to program their robots. They also will learn about artificial intelligence programming. Throughout the school year, students will have the opportunity to put together a project to showcase during the university’s annual Math & Robotics Awareness Day in the spring.
“Robotics is a popular topic in the university’s STEM camps and classes for high school and middle school students,” Nusayr said. “This year, we wanted to do something a little different, so we are going to give students the opportunity to develop a long-term project. I’m looking forward to seeing where students’ imaginations will take them.”
To apply for the class, students should fill out an online application linked from the UHV STEM Events webpage at www.uhv.edu/stem-events/after-school-events/High-School-Robotics. For more information, contact Nusayr at nusayra@uhv.edu or 361-570-4311.