The Jumpstart Program is meant to organize women for careers in robotics. | Supply: MassRobotics
This week, MassRobotics introduced that Cohort 6 functions 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 means of Could 2026. It is going to embrace a full week of classes and area journeys to robotics corporations through the public college trip week of Feb. 16 to twenty. After that, college students can acquire real-world expertise by means of 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’ll apply on-line for the Jumpstart Fellowship.
candidates can meet Jumpstart alumnae and mentors onsite at MassRobotics’ annual Robotic Block Occasion on Saturday, Sept. 27. College students will be capable to ask questions and be taught extra instantly from them and the Jumpstart Program Supervisor.
“Getting into the skilled world shouldn’t be simple, however this program has labored with us to make this path rather a lot simpler,” mentioned 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 women to study careers in robotics and put together for future pathways in STEM (science, expertise, engineering, and arithmetic).
The program offers college students a stable basis in technical expertise, mentioned MassRobotics. The Jumpstart program additionally presents an expert community and mentors who give help and foster confidence, in addition to direct engagement with trade professionals.
A key a part of the Jumpstart program is ensuring these younger girls really feel assured and empowered to enter STEM fields, the group mentioned. College students can be taught varied profession paths and easy methods to leverage their research into careers in robotics by means of lab and firm visits.
Prior to now 5 years, MassRobotics’ Jumpstart Fellowship has empowered 98 highschool women 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 economic system by means of internships and college analysis.
The vast majority of Jumpstart alumnae are specializing in engineering disciplines or laptop science, reflecting this system’s emphasis on problem-solving, innovation, and technical expertise, based on 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 meant — in electrical engineering,” mentioned Catherine, a 2024 graduate. “I’d not be the scholar and individual I’m as we speak with out the help of the MassRobotics Jumpstart program.”
MassRobotics can even have a good time Ladies 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 important developments to the sector 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 shall be visitors on the occasion, and one will share her expertise collaborating in this system.
Editor’s be aware: See our ongoing protection of STEM training, together with our current piece on the way it and robotic competitions can profit tomorrow’s workforce.
Join with MassRobotics at RoboBusiness
MassRobotics shall be collaborating in RoboBusiness 2025, which shall be on Oct. 15 and 16 on the Santa Clara Conference Middle. The group shall be operating its Startup Boot Camp, a two-part session that can cowl lots of the challenges of rising and scaling a robotics startup.
RoboBusiness is the premier occasion for builders and suppliers of business robots. It is going to additionally characteristic greater than 60 audio system and the annual Pitchfire competitors. As well as, there shall be quite a few networking alternatives and over 100 exhibitors on the present ground.
Registration is now open for RoboBusiness.
