Students at Vancouver’s Templeton Secondary School show off wireless rovers
On January 29, SAP employees were treated to a showcase of remote controlled rovers constructed and programmed by students at SAP’s partner high school, Templeton Secondary in Vancouver.
The students, divided into three groups learned drafting software, designed vehicles, built chassis and used a 3D printer to build custom parts, all while learning the physics to make their vehicles work and the programming to control their webcam-mounted rovers remotely.
The rovers are third in a series of projects that form the basis of the project-based learning curriculum that guides the Templeton STEM Institute, a partnership between the Vancouver School Board, BCIT and SAP.
In addition to support for the program, SAP also provides a one-on-one mentor for each student. Mentors work with students via an online platform to develop self-efficacy, consider career exploration and to give firsthand experience from the technology sector.
Templeton STEM is one of two inaugural programs in SAP Corporate Social Responsibility’s signature initiative to inspire students to pursue careers in the technology sector. By partnering with secondary and post-secondary institutions, SAP is working to build laddering pathways that will take students from high school, to post-secondary and right into careers in technology. Through mentorship and workplace experiences, SAP is helping to give students the education and tools to succeed in tomorrow’s workforce.
Following the showcase, mentors had the opportunity to ask the students what they felt they learned from their experience working with the rovers, and how they might apply those learnings to other courses or areas of their life.
Teamwork was a big theme for the students. Within their teams, the students further divided themselves into subgroups, with each responsible for a certain feature of the project.
Another theme we heard from students? “Simplicity is key.” We couldn't have said it better ourselves.
Check out photos from the event here and media coverage here.