The SWENexter Experience is PittSWE’s first-ever event focused on all things SWENext! Come learn about a facet of SWE that students of all ages can participate in before college! SWENext is a completely free program offered by societal SWE open to girls and boys in Elementary through High School.

SWENext benefits:

• Advice on what you can do each year in high school to prepare for college success.

• Invitations to STEM events (camps, competitions, etc.) hosted by SWE and its partners.

• Leadership training and workshops for high school students.

• Women engineers and engineering students to answer your questions or become your mentor.

• Monthly newsletters and advice columns, geared towards high school students.

• SWENext Clubs – you can start one at your school with other SWENexters. Starting in the 2021-2022 school year PittSWE will have an officer whose sole focus will be working these clubs! So now has never been a better time to start a SWENext club.

• And many more!

We encourage that students sign up for SWENext before the event so that they can immediately take advantage of the information that we share, though registration is not mandatory.

Sign up for SWENext

No matter the student’s age use event code “PittSWE”

• "Join SWENext" Link for 13 years and older: http://marketing.swe.org/l/858553/2020-07-27/2rstw

• "Join SWENext" Link for under 13 years old: http://marketing.swe.org/l/858553/2020-08-11/3z2z9

• Learn more about SWENext: https://swe.org/k-12-outreach/youth-programs/

Whether this will be your student’s first encounter with SWENext, they have been signed up for a while and enjoy the newsletters, or they are ready to take the next step and start a club at their school, all students are welcome! No matter their exposure PittSWE would like to provide support in each level of their SWENext journey in order to allow them to have the best STEAM experience.

Schedule for April 17th:

All attendees will need a device to access Zoom for this workshop. More information regarding Zoom will be sent after you register. Breakout rooms will be used to allow students to move from session to session and allow them to ask questions of the various PittSWE volunteers. We encourage students to have their cameras on though understand if they are uncomfortable, none of the sessions will be recorded.

10:00 am - Introduction to SWENext and PittSWE

Elementary

10:15 am - 11:00 am

• Interactive Activities lead by PittSWE Volunteers (supplies list will be sent prior to the event)

• Introduction to engineering disciplines, early SWENext, and more!

Middle and High School

10:15 am- 11:00 am

• SWENext Club in a Box Activity, work in a team to complete a mock-up plan for a new SWENext club in a design in the box/ escape room style activity.

11:05 am -11:25 am

• Choice of a Session***

11:30 am -11:50 am

• Choice of a Session***

11:50 am -12:00 am

• Closing and Reflection

***Students will have the choice to pick two of the four offered sessions below. When completing registration please indicate which two sessions your student would be most interested in. Below are basic outlines for the sessions.***

Session 1 - Panel with SWENext Alumni, ask questions of collegiate engineers that were SWENexters with experiences such as starting their own clubs. Come to ask them about how SWENext benefited them!

Session 2 - Ask a #Bethatengineer, join this session to ask any questions you may have about majoring in engineering. PittSWE volunteers in this session have special training to talk to incoming freshmen and students highly interested in majoring in STEM.

Session 3 - How to get involved in STEAM in HS/MS, tune in to hear about how our next PittSWE President and SWENext Alumni engineering journey started in 7th grade. She will be sharing ways that she got involved in STEAM in HS and MS. And how she was able to represent Pittsburgh in an international science and engineering competition.

Session 4 - Peer Networking (several sub-sessions) sign on for a taste of a virtual networking session based on common interests between participants. In each sub-session, a PittSWE volunteer with the same interest will be there to lead the conversation and activity! Submit your interests here: https://forms.gle/6tMqp2EFQYMuKakA8