News Byte: Summer Maker Academy Recognized as an Inspiring STEM Program

Pictured: Participants of the 2022 weeklong Summer Maker Academy

New York Tech’s 2022 VOYA summer camp program, spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Computing Sciences, has received the 2023 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.

During the weeklong Summer Maker Academy, supported by a grant from the VOYA Foundation and the New York Community Bank Foundation, middle-school students were challenged with building a tech-infused, environmentally friendly, low-impact smart building. The main design goal was to create a sustainable space that has minimal impact on the environment and its surroundings while maximizing the comfort and safety of the occupants.

Students worked in teams to design, develop, and build their smart building using skills learned in 3-D modeling, 3-D printing, laser cutting/engraving, augmented reality, and more.

The Inspiring Programs in STEM Award honors colleges and universities that encourage and assist students from underrepresented groups to enter STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). New York Tech is featured, along with 78 other recipients, in the September 2023 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine (page 60).

Inspiring Programs in STEM Award winners were selected by INSIGHT Into Diversity based on efforts to inspire and encourage a new generation of young people to consider careers in STEM through mentoring, teaching, research, and successful programs and initiatives.

“We want to honor the schools and organizations that have created programs that inspire and encourage young people who may currently be in or are interested in a future career in STEM.” says Lenore Pearlstein, owner and publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “We are proud to honor these programs as role models to other institutions of higher education and beyond.”