COLUMBIA (WACH) -- Think you can walk on water? Build a programmable xylophone? For students at USC’s College of Engineering and Computing open house, seeing is believing.
“These events are way important and can easily make any kid be interested in engineering and computing,” says USC freshman Josh Blease.
The event Thursday included various hands-on activities, and organizers hope it will attract prospective students to the field of engineering.
There are concerns about a possible shortage of engineers in the U.S.
“Every school in the country that has an engineering program needs more students,” according to USC chemical engineering professor John Weidner,
Information Technology is another area in need of workers.
Currently, 400,000 students take classes to work in the IT industry, but experts predict 900,000 jobs will be available in the next decade.
Earlier this month, the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management opened a new location in Downtown Columbia called IT-oLogy, which offers various training programs for youth.
Through an IT-oLogy initiative, five Lexington High School students interested in information technology took part in a unique learning opportunity with the Columbia Museum of Art
The students created a website for the Museum’s latest “Who Shot Rock & Roll” exhibition.
“It is one thing to hear about the profession you want to go into, but it's another thing to actually live it,” says student Jared Beaudort.
From start to finish, the project took only a few weeks to complete as the group worked with IT specialists to create and launch the site.
“Technically savvy is how I would describe these kids,” says project manager Todd Lewis. “They are fantastic and far ahead of where I was when I was their age.”
Now it's up to the students, while they still have a few years to decide what they want to do, the experience is invaluable.
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