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Convincing young people to consider a career in math and science can be challenging. Students in a classroom setting don\u2019t necessarily get to experience how fun and exciting science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields can be.<\/p>\n
University of Detroit Mercy\u2019s new iDRAW (innovating Detroit\u2019s Robotics Agile Workforce<\/a>) program uses robotics as the primary theme to show students the fun in STEM. The elements of study essential to the field of robotics serve as core components to STEM careers.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes math and science are abstract, it\u2019s hard, it\u2019s on paper and it\u2019s not very exciting, but robotics are math and science coming to life,\u201d said Richard Hill<\/a>, assistant dean for Research & External Initiatives for Detroit Mercy\u2019s College of Engineering & Science<\/a>. \u201cIn robotics, you can see something move and it does something cool.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a part of any robotics competition, the robots usually have to pick something up and move it to another location or they have to push another robot out of the way, different things like that. Robots and video games, as an engineer I understand those things are cool to a high-school kid.\u201d<\/p>\n The objective of iDRAW is to reduce barriers and prepare at-risk youth for entry into STEM fields. It builds on existing, successful partnerships and programs to provide multiple career pathways into high-demand professions.<\/p>\n According to recent research, by 2024 there will be 811,055 high-demand career openings in Michigan. Many of these will be in STEM fields. In addition, significant portions of Michigan\u2019s population face barriers to participation in STEM careers. These underrepresented populations represent significant untapped potential.<\/p>\n Through iDRAW, Detroit Mercy and project partners have the ability to begin tapping these potential students and help them engage in STEM related disciplines and careers.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are not enough engineering students, there are not enough students in the STEM pipeline and we can\u2019t just sit back and wait for them to appear,\u201d Hill said. \u201cWe have to go out and do more to facilitate student interest in developing the skills to enter these fields.\u201d<\/p>\n iDRAW has partnered with area high schools, FIRST Robotics, the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation (DHDC) and corporate partners to help achieve its primary objective.<\/p>\n Melvindale High School<\/a> and Detroit Cesar Chavez Academy<\/a> are the first two schools iDRAW has partnered with and will begin offering courses at the two schools in the fall.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are schools where their students face challenges, but they\u2019ve had some good success despite those challenges,\u201d Hill said. \u201cThey perform well academically with respect to comparable schools. And they have a good commitment to engineering. Both schools have good FIRST Robotics teams, good extra curricular activities and they\u2019ve had success in sending kids to college in these fields. That is big.\u201d<\/p>\n Courses will initially be taught by college instructors with support from college student teaching assistants and a full-time administrator. During the process, high school teachers will receive training to take over responsibility for the courses, which will greatly reduce the long-term need for external support.<\/p>\n iDRAW will roll out a new course each semester for the next six high school semesters with the goal of offering all six courses at each school.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea is to train up the high school teacher,\u201d Hill said. \u201cThe first time there is college instructor there, the second time it\u2019s primarily the high school teacher. We build up the infrastructure, the knowledge base in the school so they can take it over.\u201d<\/p>\n The courses will lead to stackable badges and industry-recognized credentials. Some of the courses will qualify for dual-enrollment credit at Detroit Mercy and Henry Ford College.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want a lot of them to go to college, but that\u2019s not the only path,\u201d Hill said. \u201cSome of them will take other routes like a two-year degree or maybe skilled trades.\u201d<\/p>\n The iDRAW program is funded by the State of Michigan\u2019s Marshall Plan for Talent Innovation Grant<\/a>. Detroit Mercy\u2019s College of Engineering & Science is helping lead the Detroit Robotics Consortium, which received a grant of $653,000 from the Marshall Plan.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Marshall Plan for Talent will assist our College in building a network of support and opportunities for students and high school teachers to provide pathways for students to STEM careers,\u201d said Katy Snyder<\/a>, dean of Detroit Mercy\u2019s College of Engineering & Science.<\/p>\n The consortium features several corporate partners, including General Motors, DTE Energy, Ideal Group and FANUC.\u00a0Corporate partners have committed to supply funding, mentors, training and hiring students out of the program.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve made a big commitment in terms of providing mentors and advisors, but they\u2019ve also committed to hiring students out of the program for internships and full-time positions,\u201d Hill said. \u201cI think that\u2019s pretty cool and pretty unique.\u201d<\/p>\n iDRAW has also partnered with DHDC and its Robotics Engineering Center of Detroit<\/a> (RECD) program.<\/p>\n DHDC offers after-school and summer programs to engage youth from fourth to 12th grades in STEM activities, including serving as the build site for the RECD\u2019s 10 FIRST Robotics teams. Over 150 high school students currently participate in the RECD program.<\/p>\n \u201cDHDC does a lot in the community,\u201d Hill said. \u201cA student can\u2019t be successful in school if they are hungry or they\u2019re homeless or having other issues. They have programming that helps with some of these social needs, some of these external needs, so they can better focus on academics.\u201d<\/p>\n FIRST Robotics<\/a> is a great recruiting tool for iDRAW and partnering with the RECD program helps reach more students.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of students like the competition of FIRST Robotics,\u201d Hill said. \u201cThe hope is that robotics is motivating. It\u2019s an application where we can build up their core-required skills. Their ability to do math and communicate and do it in the context of something they enjoy is motivating for them.<\/p>\n \u201cDifferent technical skills are used as part of the robotics projects so they might do some drafting or computer-aided design (CAD) for the chassis of the robot, they might do some programming of the robot, they might have to do some wiring and dealing with the electronics. It\u2019s a direct application of technical skills that could be a career pathway.\u201d<\/p>\n The iDRAW program is loosely patterned after the successful IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis) iDEW (informatics Diversity Enhanced Workforce<\/a>) program.<\/p>\n The iDEW program has grown from offering three courses in 2015 to 24 and has reached 613 students in eight schools. Currently 93 percent of graduating seniors are enrolled in or planning to attend a two- or four-year degree program with 78 percent indicating an interest in purusing a career in IT.<\/p>\n The iDRAW program will also be a formal member of the regional iDEW network.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are working with them primarily because of their success,\u201d Hill said. \u201cI feel like we were heading there on our own so it was just serendipitous that we got in contact with them.\u201d<\/p>\n Programs like iDRAW are critical to closing the gap between the number of career openings in STEM fields and the number of qualified candidates.<\/p>\n iDRAW\u2019s ambitious goals are that more than 200 students will earn recognition as official iDRAW graduates during the initial five-year period and upon high school graduation, 75 percent of iDRAW graduates will immediately enter college in a STEM field or will be employed in a STEM occupation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal is to be cumulative,\u201d Hill said. \u201cIt\u2019s not that they only do FIRST Robotics, it\u2019s not that they only take this class. The hope is they do four or five of these things. They take three different classes, they do FIRST Robotics, they do a summer camp, they do an internship. Just because a lot of these students face a lot of barriers, it\u2019s interventions and impacts of all these different things that will really move the needle and actually have an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n For more information on the iDRAW program, visit http:\/\/eng-sci.udmercy.edu\/about\/idraw\/index<\/a>. To learn more about Detroit Mercy\u2019s College of Engineering & Science, visit https:\/\/eng-sci.udmercy.edu\/index.php<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Original story written by\u00a0Dave Pemberton<\/a>.\u00a0Follow Detroit Mercy on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>. Have a story idea? Let us know by\u00a0submitting your idea<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Convincing young people to consider a career in math and science can be challenging. 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