Girls Into Electronics
23 girls attended from Sullivan Upper School, Royal School, Dungannon and Coleraine High. They participated in an Arduino workshop, soldered a ladybug that flashed its eyes when the light was dim and met Baxter the humanoid robot.
The event was kickstarted with a video from our sponsor the UK Electronics Skills Foundation and an inspiring talk from our Senior Lecturer, Angela Allen. The girls coded an Arduino compatible board using a Grove Educational Kit.
We were delighted that Jason Meredith from Apple was able to assist with the workshops. Also Charlie Keaney spoke to the girls about the benefits of the UKESF scholarship.
The girls also participated in a popular soldering workshop.
Then the Ph.D. researchers demonstrated the humanoid robot Baxter and robots for underwater exploration.
After this they visited the sustainability lab and were able to ask questions from electronic students and industrial representatives.
A BIG THANK YOU!
This was a team effort and thanks must go to a number of people without whom the event would not have been a success including:
UKESF: we would like to thank this charity for all their support including marketing and providing a framework of events and especially, Jess Steele.
Visitors: Jason Meredith from Apple who provided hands on support during the workshops and Charlie Keaney who provided information on being a UKESF scholar.
Researchers: Yuzhu Sun who provided technical expertise for the electronic bug design and provided a demo of Baxter the humanoid robot. Kabirat Olayemi who demonstrated the soldering workshop and presented the robotic research. Ayesha Abdul Majeed who welcomed the guests, helped with the tour and the arduino coding workshop.
Schools: The teaching staff who facilitated the student engagement and the student participants who were delightful to host.
Staff from Queens: Prof Professor Karen Raffety for signposting the importance of such an event and Dr Angela Allen who welcomed the group to Queen's. Ramakant Sharma, Keith Stewart and Debbie Britton who provided IT and Technical Support, Nuala Sloan who organised demonstrators, TJ for hospitality and marketing advice, Michael Cregan for funding the soldering workshop and finally Milan for ensuring the areas were tidy and organised. The technicians (Gerry Rafferty, Tony Boyle and Jim Norney) who trained the demonstrators in soldering and provided workshop support. Ann Doris and Claire Ussher from Careers who established contact with industrial representatives.