Are there any requirements to participate?

You must be a high school student in the San Diego area who is able to commute to UC San Diego. You must join SWENext (It's free and we can help you join at orientation). You don't need to be female to participate in PEP or join SWENext.

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Does it cost anything to participate in PEP?

No. The program is completely free. We will also provide all the necessary materials and equipment free of charge.

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Do I need any prior experience or knowledge?

No previous experience or specific knowledge is required. Our mentors will teach you any skills you need to complete your project. 

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LOGISTICS

What is the time commitment?

As a minimum commitment, you will be expected to come to our campus for 15 days. We will have planning days on Saturdays, as well as fabrication days in the lab on Sundays. In addition, you should plan to spend some time communicating with your mentors during the weekdays to do any extra planning.

 

What are the most important dates and deadlines?

January 1: Application to program due

January 21: Orientation at UCSD

January 28: Project Drafting Day

February 4: Project Proposal due

 

Do we need to meet between build/planning days?

No, but you are expected to communicate through email.

 

How often would we meet with our mentors?

You will meet with your mentors on the weekend either on the planning day and/or build days. It is up to your team when you can meet however each person must satisfy the requirement stated above. You will also be keeping in contact with your mentors between meetings through email.

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Where would we meet with our mentors?

You will be meeting with your mentors on the UC San Diego campus. On planning days (Saturdays), you will be meeting at the IDEA Learning Center. On build days (Sundays), you will either be meeting at the ECE Maker Space or the Envision Maker Studio depending on the week's availability. Check the calendar for availability dates.

 

Do I need to provide my own transportation?

Yes, you will need a way to travel to UCSD. Parking is free on the weekends.

 

Do we all keep in contact with the mentor?

All team members need to keep in contact with their mentors through email.

 

MENTORS

How do we get mentors and how many do we get?

We will assign three to five mentors to your team based on your engineering interests. Based on the project interests you express on your sign-up, we will assign mentors with relevant experience.

 

What role do mentors play in the PEP program?

Mentors will be UCSD engineering college students majoring in the fields pertaining to the project. They will help formulate the project proposal, monitor progress, teach technical skills, and offer academic advice.

 

PROJECT DETAILS

What type of project would we be working on?

That depends on you! If there is a project you would like to do (within reason), suggest it to your team and your mentors. All projects will related to some field of engineering. Some examples are building a robot, constructing a bridge, near space ballooning, and creating a smart phone application.

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Would there be a structure to the team?

Each team will have the following high school student positions:

Team lead - keeps track of technical deadlines and logs progress of the team to present at the June 3rd presentation

Logistics - communicates with mentors when additional materials/equipment are needed

 

These two positions are required by the PEP program, but additional positions can be added depending on the needs of the group.