Category Archives: Micron

Summer Programs In Review

Bridge Programs

This summer, NOVA SySTEMic conducted 4 bridge programs for rising and graduating high school students interested in pursuing further education in an IET discipline.

2 of the programs centered around Engineering Technology and 2 were focused on Information Technology.

In the Engineering Technology program, students spent two days onsite at data center partner Stack Infrastructure, visited Micron Technologies, and learned the basics of industrial process controls.

In the Information Technology program, students learned to assemble a desktop computer, trained a simple generative AI, and conducted cybersecurity exercises in the Virginia Cyber Range. In total, 57 students participated in the bridge programs, earning credit for SDV 101: College Success Skills. 


STEM Camps

This year’s STEM Camp enrollments were the highest since 2019. Among our 26 camp sessions, including robotics, coding, cybersecurity, fabrication, rocketry, and more, we totaled 508 registrations and 454 participants.

Fabrication, cybersecurity, and rocketry camps sold out completely and 10% of camp participants took 2 or more camps. We continually strive to engage more girls in STEM and our fabrication camps averaged 65/35 male to female ratio while our STEM elementary camp held a 67/33 ratio.

When asked about the camp experience, one parent said about their child: “He’s been wanting to explore coding for a long time. He was slightly intimidated by the circuitry of the raspberry pi and arduino, but is also anxious to learn more about them now. This is EXACTLY what I was hoping for!!! This camp was AMAZING and we can’t wait to attend more next summer.”

Another parent reflected “What a great group of kids and counselors. I especially loved that you invited parents to come watch. Everything was so positive and encouraging and I really enjoyed the positive environment while kids explored new things.”

We’re looking forward to next year’s camps already. Registration will be available in January 2024.

DCO Tech Advancing In-Demand Technology

NOVA’s DCO Tech Grant will be highlighted at the NSF ATE Principal Investigators’ Conference in October.

On October 26-28, NOVA SySTEMic director Josh Labrie and Stack Infrastructure’s VP (and NOVA professor) TJ Ciccone will present DCO Tech at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Principal Investigators’ (PI) Conference in Washington D.C. The conference will bring together more than 850 NSF ATE grantees and their project partners to focus on the critical issues related to advanced technological education.

NOVA’s DCO Tech Grant supports NOVA’s Engineering Tech Programs and is designed to increase regional capacity for training in Engineering Technology (ET) and Data Center Operations (DCO) through expanded recruitment, employment, training, and increased collaboration between industry, K-12 educators, and faculty.

This year, as part of DCO Tech, NOVA SySTEMic conducted successful Bridge Programs for high school juniors and seniors (bridging the gap between HS and college), and introduced students to Data Center Operations and Engineering Technology. Bridge students toured 2 NOVA campuses, visited industry partners (Micron and STACK Infrastructure) and conducted hands-on activities at NOVA’s mechatronics and data center labs. The program featured guest speakers from NOVA’s student support offices, IET faculty members, and industry volunteers. 20 high school students completed the 2-week program and earned 1 college credit with the opportunity to earn their OSHA 10 certification. NOVA provided free transportation between NOVA campuses to reduce barriers to participation.

One of the hallmarks of DCO Tech’s Bridge programs is that they can improve attitudes towards STEM disciplines and awareness of career opportunities. One student reflected “I really enjoyed building connections and understanding the different fields of STEM. I never understood data centers in this depth. I’m very glad it’s in-person and we get to see NOVA campuses.”

In addition, DCO Tech helps provide career readiness for NOVA students through the Career and Leadership Readiness Institute (CLRI), which enhances leadership skills and develops career connections, teaching students how to interview, create a standout resume, network effectively, and manage interpersonal skills. Students who complete CLRI will receive priority consideration for paid internships with industry partners. New CLRI courses begin on Oct 18 and you can sign up for info sessions on Oct 4, 6, and 11. Applications are due on October 12. Find out more and sign up at https://www.nvcc.edu/career-services/clri.html

Another component of DCO Tech is the K12 Educator Externship, which raises awareness for Engineering Technology and Data Center Operations career pathways among secondary educators. This Engineering Technology Externship is designed to provide teachers, counselors, and administrators with first-hand knowledge of engineering technology and data center operations through industry site visits and engagement with NOVA’s related programs of study. This year we had 18 externship completers who visited Micron Technology, Stack Infrastructure, and NOVA’s Fab Lab to help inform them on creating an action plan to improve the pipeline of students entering the workforce as technicians for DCO or Engineering Technology. In polling, 100% of participants rated the overall externship as above average or excellent. All participants expressed moderate to very confident abilities in educating their colleagues on guiding students to ET and DCO careers.

One educator said “we were given a clear picture of the type of student that would succeed in this industry, the skillsets needed, along with the curriculum. This, along with actually touring the facility, increased my awareness and as such, I feel more confident in sharing this with students, parents, and teachers.”

**We will be continuing the Summer Bridge Programs and Secondary Educator Externship Programs in 2023. Complete this form to be notified when registration is live. You can also sign up for the monthly NOVA IET newsletter which will have details about the 2023 programs as soon as they are available.

To learn more about Engineering Technology at NOVA visit https://www.nvcc.edu/academics/areas/applied-technologies/engineering-technology.html

For more about Data Center Operations at NOVA, go to https://www.nvcc.edu/academics/areas/applied-technologies/data-center-operations.html

To learn more about the NSF ATE PI Conference, click here