Updated
Updated · University of Connecticut · Aug 10
UConn School of Computing Hosts 1-Week AI Camp for Students From 19 High Schools
Updated
Updated · University of Connecticut · Aug 10

UConn School of Computing Hosts 1-Week AI Camp for Students From 19 High Schools

2 articles · Updated · University of Connecticut · Aug 10

Summary

  • Grades 8-12 students spent July 27-31 at UConn’s Storrs campus in an AI summer camp built to teach core concepts and responsible use of the technology.
  • Campers from 19 high schools across Connecticut, New York and abroad, plus three homeschooled students, trained AI models, used programming tools and tested ideas through computer-vision scavenger hunts and video-game projects.
  • A visit to UConn’s cyber-physics lab connected those lessons to engineering practice, with students programming race cars to drive themselves under guidance from researchers.
  • Faculty and student instructors also emphasized AI ethics, framing the program as part of UConn’s broader push to build computational skills, problem-solving and social responsibility in future engineers.

Insights

Can a one-week summer camp truly transform coding novices into ethical AI developers programming autonomous race cars?
How might teaching middle schoolers AI ethics today fuel the university's massive tech commercialization pipeline tomorrow?
Will early hands-on exposure to computer vision and machine learning algorithms fundamentally reshape how the next generation views human agency?