Youth STEM Entrepreneurship Programs
Our sustainability-focused innovation entrepreneurship bootcamps for youth ages 13-18 are designed in modules that mimic the essential steps in innovation entrepreneurship. Participants gain a strong overall understanding of concepts involved in innovation entrepreneurship while simultaneously learning sustainability-focused STEM subject matter content. Participants also gain teamwork, project management and leadership skills. Throughout the bootcamps they are introduced to and use various technology tools so they gain hands-on experience with Google Docs, Google Sheets, Trello for project management, Canva for graphic design, and ChatGPT Generative AI as an assistance tool.
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"AquaEcoPreneurs: Hydropower Innovation for Climate Action" Bootcamp
TOPICS: What is hydropower, how does it work and why is it important as a renewable energy source? What is the status of hydropower in our region?
PROJECT:
Participants will construct a hydroelectric power station to generate electricity and light an LED
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VoltVoyagers: Entrepreneurship & Electrification Bootcamp
TOPICS: Participants will learn about the importance of electrification in reducing carbon emissions and fighting climate change. They will learn about (1) Transportation Electrification; (2) Vehicle to Grid Technology; (3) Education & Demand Flexibility: Smart Thermostats, Energy Efficient Appliances, Energy Efficiency & Building Electrification (4) Distributed Energy Resources.
PROJECT (1): Participants will build their own electric robots, learning how to build a simple circuit and the principles of energy conversion.
PROJECT (2): Participants will figure out the power consumption of various appliances using online research, appliance manuals, and energy consumption calculators; they will develop plans to reduce and better distribute energy usage within various home scenarios.
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TurbineTitans: The Wind Energy Solution Bootcamp
TOPICS: What is wind power, how does it work and why is it important as a renewable energy source? What is the status of wind power in our region?
PROJECT: Participants will build a realistic wind turbine complete with an electric generator and adjustable rotor blades. They will conduct experiments to optimize the turbine’s performance by adjusting the angle of the blades and discover how to use the wind turbine to light up an LED and charge a rechargeable battery. After the wind charges the battery, participants will turn their generator into the motor of an electric car to demonstrate a tangible application for the stored electricity.
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GreenGrit: Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Biomass
TOPICS: Participants will be learning about biomass, the energy stored in plants and other organic materials like agricultural waste, forestry waste, food waste and wastewater. They will learn how it can be converted to renewable natural gas and used to decarbonize natural gas power plants. They will learn that dairy digesters are one way to use biomass to produce renewable energy and that they reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
PROJECT: Participants will be using different fruits and vegetables to power an LED, clock and fan
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SolarSpark: The Solar Entrepreneurship Bootcamp
TOPICS: What is solar power, how does it work and why is it important as a renewable energy source? What is the status of solar power in our region?
PROJECT: Participants will be building their own robots that run on solar power.
BOOTCAMP CONTENT OUTLINE
Module 1: Program “Launch Day”
The importance of embracing your unique perspective to attain environmental equity & the role diversity plays in increasing innovation
Seeing yourself as an entrepreneur and the elements of an Entrepreneurial Mindset
You can do this! What is Continuous Learning & Just-in-time Learning
Overview of Innovation Entrepreneurship Process
Bootcamp Orientation: We will be using a Kanban board via individual Trello accounts for the bootcamp project flow so participants will see the Innovation Entrepreneurship steps setup on their Kanban board and will use this board as their project management tool as they work their way through the bootcamp.
Module 2: Problem-Solving
Overview of Bootcamp STEM topic [see above for individual bootcamp topics]
“What’s New”: Overview of several innovative startups working on this topic
Module 3: Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
You are actually going to build your product! Hands-on project [See individual Bootcamp for specific project description]
Module 4: Customer Value Proposition
You’ve built your MVP and now you need to figure out if there is an actual market for your product before you spend a lot of time and money manufacturing your product. You’ll learn the importance of customer feedback & iteration in the startup process. You’ll also learn to use ChatGPT as an assistant during this module.
You’ll develop your ideal customer profile (who would buy your product? Is the customer a consumer or a business?).
Now let’s find out if your assumptions about your customer are correct through customer interviews. You’ll develop key questions to ask your ideal customer.
We’ll do simulated interviews. After the interviews, you’ll analyze the feedback you got and determine what changes, if any, should be made to your MVP.
Module 5: Business Financials
Business Revenue models. How will your business make money? Are you selling a subscription, selling the whole product, etc. What are the costs you need to consider? You’ll gain an understanding of income and expenses in a business and complete your own budget in Google Sheets based on a model budget.
Module 6: Startup Pitch Essentials
You will design your company logo in Canva. You design your own 8 slide pitch deck in Canva based on a model deck. The information you’ve been collecting during each module is the basis for the information in your pitch deck.
Module 7: Demo Day
Using your slide deck, you will pitch your company concept to a panel of community judges.
