Engaging Detroit’s next generation of engineers
With help from an Engage Detroit grant, U-M IOE and Robotics empower future engineers through hands-on learning and community building.
On June 20, close to 30 students from 10 different Detroit-area high schools gathered at the University of Michigan (U-M) Detroit Center for the inaugural Engineering Detroit’s Future: Empowering Detroit’s Next Generation through Engineering Exploration workshop.
The day featured six different activities designed to spark interest in engineering. In one classroom, students donned virtual reality headsets and immersed themselves in a simulated search and rescue while learning about automation aids. Meanwhile, down the hall, others were using Legos to optimize strategies for a furniture store.
U-M Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering (IOE) and Robotics Professor Leia Stirling and U-M IOE Assistant Professor Albert S. Berahas organized the workshop thanks to funding from the U-M Engage Detroit Workshops grant and the U-M IOE and Robotics departments. The grant supports collaborations between faculty, staff, students and community partners, strengthening the relationship between the university and Detroit. Both Stirling and Berahas want to create community while exposing students to industrial and operations engineering and robotics synergies.
“Detroit is part of U-M, and U-M is part of Detroit,” said Berahas. “Part of our mission at U-M is to support and engage with the community.”
U-M IOE previously partnered with alumnus and Detroit Educational Takeover Founder and President Jhawan Davis during Optimaize Day, a day of engineering exposure for Metro Detroit students in Ann Arbor. This time, the workshop brought Ann Arbor to Detroit.
Throughout the day, attendees engaged in student and industry panels and networking. They also participated in activities led by U-M faculty and students that covered physical human factors, cognitive human factors, machine learning, optimization, robot control and robot design.
“We want to represent the different ways to be an engineer,” said Stirling. “Engineering isn’t just about technology. We aim to introduce students to the wide range of questions an engineer must consider when creating sociotechnical systems.”
The program’s success is also thanks to the support and dedication of U-M student, faculty and staff volunteers, alongside partners such as the Detroit Educational Takeover and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Detroit Professionals Chapter.
“I didn’t know anything about U-M IOE when I was in high school and when I started at U-M,” said U-M IOE master’s student and Cass Tech High School alumna Ciera Collier, who spoke on the student panel. “I’m here today to give insight so they see someone who looks like them, in this industry, at this school, doing something they aspire to do.”
Among the student participants was Cherokee Barlow, a rising senior at The School at Marygrove and Optimaize Day alumna. While she is primarily interested in biomedical engineering, the cognitive human factors workshop broadened her engineering perspective.
“These opportunities are really important,” she said. “They expose students to engineering pathways they’ve never heard of before.”
“Not all students will pursue engineering,” said Stirling. “However, fostering an excitement for learning and understanding is crucial. Even if engineering isn’t their passion, having that knowledge and awareness is valuable.”
For those interested in attending the next session on July 28, registration is open until July 14 at this link. More photos from the first session are available here.
