K-12 Outreach

July 17th, 2024 - Participants in the UPWARDS summer camp fabricate semiconductors in Virginia Tech's clean lab. The clean lab uses special amber tinted lighting to protect the delicate electronics used in semiconductors. (Photo by Luke Hayes/Virginia Tech)

UPWARDS High School Summer Camp

UPWARDS High School Residential Summer Camp in Balcksburg

The UPWARDS Summer Camp at Virginia Tech is a two-week immersive experience centered on microelectronics and semiconductor fabrication, targeting students interested in electrical, computer, materials, or chemical engineering. Participants engage in hands-on activities including computer-aided design (CAD) tutorials, clean-room training, and fabrication/testing of microelectronic devices, thereby gaining direct exposure to processes and career paths within the semiconductor industry. The camp is supported by National Science Foundation, Micron Technology, and Tokyo Electron.

UPWARDS TechTrek High School Summer Camp in Alexandria

The UPWARDS TechTrek High School Program is a two-week immersive program hosted by Virginia Tech's BRICCS Lab at the Potomac Yard campus in Alexandria, targeting rising 10th–12th grade students across Northern Virginia. Running July 20–31 and August 3–14, 2026, the camp introduces participants to core pillars of modern computing hardware and intelligent systems through hands-on modules in artificial intelligence and machine learning, Python programming, Internet of Things platforms (micro:bit, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi), electronic circuit design, digital design and FPGA-based hardware description languages, and robotics and drone technology. Students also take field trips to leading technology and manufacturing employers, and top participants may be invited to continue into a yearlong innovation and research track that pairs them directly with Virginia Tech faculty and students on active research projects — building an early pipeline into the AI, semiconductor, and IoT workforce.