CS Department hosts summer workshop for Iowa high school students

The Department of Computer Science hosted a  two-week-long Summer Workshop from August 2nd to August 13th. The workshop was a hands-on learning experience for high school students in the Science Bound program who were interested in Computer Science. The event improved outreach efforts to the K-12 community, with special emphasis on broadening participation in computer science among underrepresented students. The instructors were real-world CS professors, which gives students a better idea of the world-class faculty at ISU.  Overall, the workshop helped ISU Department of Computer Science set its program apart from other CS programs at an early stage in the students' career explorations. 

The students involved in the workshop were part of the Science Bound program at ISU. Science Bound is Iowa State University's premier pre-college through-college program to empower Iowa students of color to pursue degrees and careers in ASTEM (agriculture, science technology, engineering and mathematics) fields and education. They engage middle and high school students from Osceola, Des Moines, Denison, and Marshalltown, Iowa. Students begin the nine-year program during the summer before eighth grade and continue through to college graduation.

The event was facilitated by professors Wallapak Tavanapong, Soma Chaudhuri, Ying Cai, Christopher Quinn, along with student volunteers and with the help of Science Bound.

Students left the event with intelligent computer systems that they built and with a deepened understanding of the possibilities a computer science degree can have.