Local Students Explore Autonomous Vehicles at MIT-BWSI

On Saturday, six local high school students will be working with tomorrow’s technology, guided by academics and industry experts. Representing Cape Cod Tech in Harwich and the O’Bryant School in Roxbury, these 9thand 10th graders will program small robotic cars to autonomously navigate a racetrack, learning about components from sensors to software.

“The RACECAR course is an extremely effective way to teach complex engineering concepts.” Said Joel Grimm, Program Manager, Beaver Works. “It’s been part of our MIT – Beaver Works Summer Institute (MIT-BWSI) for high school students since 2016. The RACECAR courseware has even been incorporated into the standard curriculum at Madison Park Technical Vocational HS as part of the Cardinal Works initiative.”

“We see this as a first step in preparing our students for a new wave of jobs.” Added Rene King, IT teacher at Cape Cod Tech. “Autonomous vehicles will drive huge changes; some jobs will disappear, but others will be created. As educators, we must prepare students for those future jobs.”

MIT-BWSI teaches STEM skills to high school students through over a dozen project-based, workshop-style courses. RACECAR was the first course offered and is updated every year.

To learn more about RACECAR and Boston students, see World-class STEM Courseware from MIT-BWSI to Boston Public School or contact Jim Sproul at 617-459-2969, jsproul@sproulco.com.

Cardinal Works is a collaborative effort by Madison Park Technical Vocational High School and The Sproul Company, focused on delivering mobility industry education to high school students in Massachusetts and beyond.

Cape Cod Regional Technical High School is excited to partner with MIT-BWSI to offer our students the opportunity to learn cutting-edge technologies around autonomous vehicles. Providing our future engineers the experience to explore the possibilities of autonomous vehicles and build their 21st-century skills will enable them to be ahead of the curve as they prepare for their future. We are honored and privileged to be part of this awesome adventure.