Sessions

Prerequisites: Integrated Math III, Math 3, or equivalent

The two-week Data Analytics course will explore the fundamental principles of data science. This hands-on experience helps students understand data science methods such as statistical inference techniques and statistical thinking for decision-making under uncertainty. In particular, they will become familiar with methods associated with data collection, data processing, data summarization and visualization, and statistical modeling. Students will apply the concepts communicated through the lectures by analyzing real-world data using the statistical programming language R. Through collaborative teamwork and interactive learning, students will engage in the processes of scientific investigation and inquiry applicable across different scientific disciplines. 

By the end of the program, students will work on a capstone project based on a scientific problem. They will present their findings to a broader audience, refining their communication and presentation skills.

Students will:

• Engage in hands-on analytics projects involving real-life scientific data.
• Learn how to formulate scientific questions and apply a statistical thought process to provide practical solutions.
• Interact with university faculty and college students and visit research labs.
• Explore career pathways in data science and related fields.
• Work in teams while emphasizing the skills required for scientific research, including creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. The projects will emphasize Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) concepts and align with Common Core Standards and the Framework for Next Generation Science Standards.

Prerequisites (recommended): Integrated Math II, Math 2, or equivalent

Cryptography is a key part of cybersecurity. Cryptography is the use of codes to secure computer networks, online systems, and digital data. It is a concept whose endgame is to keep vital information that is subject to potential data breaches safe and confidential.  This two-week camp will explore the foundations of modern cryptography.  Students will learn about the mathematical underpinnings, or fundamentals, of cryptography and their applications in secure communication, data integrity, and authentication.  We will also explore weak links in security and how we can keep a secure system working as it should.  

The coding concepts will be reinforced by having students implement a system to analyze particular aspects of security. By the end of the program, students will complete a capstone project based on exploring weak points in a cryptographic system and will present their findings to a broader audience.

Students will:

• Engage in a hands-on security-related project.
• Change how they view security policies, risk management, passwords, and technology.
• Learn more effective ways to prevent cyber attacks, and understand how a secure system can be implemented.
• Learn how authentication and secure communication work together.

Prerequisites: Introductory Programming Experience

This two-week course introduces students to the principles and best practices of software engineering.

It starts with the simple observation that software is “everywhere” and is central not only to modern applications, but to all walks of modern life. Thus software engineering is fundamental to students’ jobs and careers, their futures and “lives”. This course covers the breadth of software engineering, by introducing the software development lifecycle, then offering more depth into each phase of the lifecycle, such as software requirements and architecture, software testing, software design and UI/UX design, etc. It gives students hands-on access to software tools and methods, such as Use Cases and User Stories, OOAD with UML, and so on.

Thus, upon completion of this course, students will have dabbled and gained experience in the following items, and others:

• Explain how Software Engineering is different from, but compatible with Programming.
• Describe the top-level principles and best-practices of software engineering.
• Describe the need for, and some of the original software process models, such as Waterfall, Spiral, and Rational Unified Process.
• Describe the current modern processes of XP SCRUM and Agile software development.
• Explain the purpose, goals and benefits of requirements engineering and create a requirements specification.
• Describe software architectural styles and design patterns.
• Create a design specification following a design document template.
• Explain the purpose, goals and benefits of software testing and apply in practice testing methods.