The Jumpstart Program is meant to organize ladies for careers in robotics. | Supply: MassRobotics
This week, MassRobotics introduced that Cohort 6 purposes are open for its Jumpstart Fellowship. The group additionally gave an replace on this system’s progress in its five-year report.
Jumpstart programming will on Saturdays from January by Could 2026. It should embrace a full week of periods and area journeys to robotics corporations through the public faculty trip week of Feb. 16 to twenty. After that, college students can achieve real-world expertise by paid internships at a robotics or expertise firm.
All feminine highschool juniors and seniors with a ardour for robotics and expertise are inspired to use, with Boston college students given precedence. They will apply on-line for the Jumpstart Fellowship.
candidates can meet Jumpstart alumnae and mentors onsite at MassRobotics’ annual Robotic Block Celebration on Saturday, Sept. 27. College students will have the ability to ask questions and be taught extra immediately from them and the Jumpstart Program Supervisor.
“Coming into the skilled world will not be simple, however this program has labored with us to make this path loads simpler,” stated Tairine, a 2022 graduate of this system.
5 years of the Jumpstart Fellowship
MassRobotics created the Jumpstart Fellowship Program in 2021 to supply alternatives for various Massachusetts highschool ladies to find out about careers in robotics and put together for future pathways in STEM (science, expertise, engineering, and arithmetic).
The program gives college students a stable basis in technical expertise, stated MassRobotics. The Jumpstart program additionally gives knowledgeable community and mentors who give assist and foster confidence, in addition to direct engagement with trade professionals.
A key a part of the Jumpstart program is ensuring these younger ladies really feel assured and empowered to enter STEM fields, the group stated. College students can be taught varied profession paths and the right way to leverage their research into careers in robotics by lab and firm visits.
Prior to now 5 years, MassRobotics’ Jumpstart Fellowship has empowered 98 highschool ladies throughout Massachusetts to discover alternatives in STEM fields. Up to now, 88% of graduates are pursuing STEM careers, with many already contributing to the state’s innovation financial system by internships and college analysis.
Nearly all of Jumpstart alumnae are specializing in engineering disciplines or laptop science, reflecting this system’s emphasis on problem-solving, innovation, and technical expertise, in keeping with MassRobotics.
“This system not solely helped me envision myself as an engineer for the primary time, however [it] additionally helped me discover my spark — pun supposed — in electrical engineering,” stated Catherine, a 2024 graduate. “I might not be the scholar and particular person I’m at the moment with out the assist of the MassRobotics Jumpstart program.”
MassRobotics can even have a good time Girls in Robotics and the achievements of feminine researchers at its annual black-tie gala on Oct. 25 on the MIT Samberg Middle. This occasion will honor Robotics Medal recipient Maja Mataric, a UCLA professor, for her pioneering work within the area of socially assistive robots and for making vital developments to the sphere of distributed robots and studying in human-robot programs.
The gala can even acknowledge Rising Star medal recipient Tania Morimoto, a UC San Diego professor, for her contributions to novel delicate and versatile medical robots and human-machine interfaces designed to enhance entry to high-quality care.
Jumpstart graduates will probably be friends on the occasion, and one will share her expertise taking part in this system.
Editor’s observe: See our ongoing protection of STEM training, together with our latest piece on the way it and robotic competitions can profit tomorrow’s workforce.
Join with MassRobotics at RoboBusiness
MassRobotics will probably be participating in RoboBusiness 2025, which will probably be on Oct. 15 and 16 on the Santa Clara Conference Middle. The group will probably be working its Startup Boot Camp, a two-part session that may cowl lots of the challenges of rising and scaling a robotics startup.
RoboBusiness is the premier occasion for builders and suppliers of economic robots. It should additionally function greater than 60 audio system and the annual Pitchfire competitors. As well as, there will probably be quite a few networking alternatives and over 100 exhibitors on the present ground.
Registration is now open for RoboBusiness.
