Engineering Summer Camp

Registration to this event is now closed Heading link

Registration will reopen for next summer in January 2025.

See you then!

Camp format Heading link

camp participants working together on a project

In 2024 summer, five of the UIC departments will participate in the camp:

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • IT and software
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

This five-day program includes lunch, and optional aftercare is provided. Each day, students get a chance to experiment—literally—with a particular field. Participants complete hands-on challenges based on concepts developed by UIC Engineering faculty members and graduate students. One day that might be writing computer code; another day, it could be robotics or biomechanics.

Students also hear about potential future careers that might await them in each engineering discipline, from nanotechnology to self-driving vehicles to creating transplant-ready organs to save lives.

Participants begin each day at UIC’s east campus and spend each of the five days of the camp in an engineering lab run by a different academic department. From morning drop-off to afternoon pickup, each participant is accompanied at all times by camp staff: faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate chaperones. All camp personnel are highly experienced and highly trained, and comprehensive background checks are performed to ensure the proper protection of minors. The expected participant-to-staff ratio is between 5 to 1 and 8 to 1.

Cost and schedule Heading link

Cost for 1 Week: $500 per student

  • The fee includes daily lunch, project materials, and a camp t-shirt.
  • Children of University of Illinois (UIC, UIUC, UIS, or System Office) employees receive a 10% discount.
  • Optional after-care from 4 pm to 6 pm is available for an additional $25 per day.

Dates and Age Groups

  • Track 1 – Rising 4th to 6th grade — July 8 – 12, 2024 (Full)
  • Track 2 – Rising 7th to 9th grade — July 15 – 19, 2024 (Full)
  • Track 3 – Rising 10th to 12th grade — July 22 – 26, 2024 (Full)

Daily Schedule

  • 8:30am – 8:50am: Drop off at 801 S. Morgan St. (UIC Daley Library)
  • 9am – 12pm: Project and design challenge #1, with a short break
  • 12pm – 1pm: Lunch (at UIC cafeteria) and outdoor recess
  • 1pm – 4pm: Project and design challenge #2 (and #3, if applicable), with a short break
  • 4pm: Pickup at 801 S. Morgan St.
  • 4pm – 6pm: Optional after-care ($25 additional per day)

Orientation information and other details are emailed to the parents/guardians of registered participants a few weeks before the camp start date. Daily updates will also be provided during the camp period.

Is UIC Engineering Experience Camp for you? Heading link

students creating a robot

UIC mechanical and industrial engineering faculty member Yeow Siow calls the camp ideally suited for students who are “inquisitive and curious about the world around them, want to try new things, meet new people, and use their heads and hands to solve problems.” Read the story from the 2022 Engineering Summer Camp here.

At UIC Engineering Experience Camp, students can discover the creative aspects of engineering while also getting a sense of what life is like as a college student.

Contact Heading link

For more information about the UIC Engineering Experience Camp, contact the camp director, Dr. Zhinan Wang, at engineeringcamp@uic.edu.

Register