The Mataró technology park, TecnoCampus, will organize this summer the tenth edition of Xnergic, a campus designed for young people between 12 and 18 who are interested in new technologies, can learn about them in a practical way and in a specialized environment.
“Our goal is to promote knowledge and use of technology in a professional and playful way. In addition, we want students to learn to be responsible and have self-control when they use it”, explains Dr. Marco Antonio Rodríguez, coordinator of the program to promote technological vocations and Xnergic.
The summer technology campus will feature this edition with five proposals that will last between two and four weeks linked to the specialties of video game programming with the Fortnite and Roblox engines, 3D design and animation with specialized software (MikuMikuDance and Blender) and the construction of a sumo robot
"The content of each course is linked to its specialty, but there are some intangibles that are learned in all the courses, such as learning about the world after compulsory education, learning among peers, and the transfer of work and didactic experience from the monitors to the students”, points out the coordinator of the Xnergic summer technology campus.
The Xnergic summer campus arose in 2014 thanks to the will of a group of students from the academic field of engineering who had made various didactic proposals for high school students.
"The university saw this idea and supported it for its social value, for its ability to promote the study of technological careers that were beginning to be taught, and as an intrinsic value that allowed the formation of a cyclical structure of learning and teaching," he states. Dr. Marco Antonio Rodríguez.
And he adds: "With Xnergic we seek to create a spiral of knowledge: high school students who are trained on the summer campus, who after high school enter the university as a student of an engineering degree and, finally, establish projects to train others secondary students".
The circularity of the project is reflected in the fact that the projects offered in all editions are proposed by final year students of the Videogames, Industrial Organization, Electronics and Audiovisual university degrees offered by TecnoCampus.
"The process is the following. A group of fourth-grade students present their suggestions for possible programs for the summer campus to the teachers. The initiatives are evaluated according to criteria of innovation, technological capabilities and originality. Finally, between the teachers and the coordinator, the methodological and didactic part is added”, describes the coordinator of the program for the promotion of technological vocations.
One of the fundamental characteristics of the Xnergic summer technology campus is its connection with the university world and with a future career linked to new technologies. A relationship that he establishes thanks to the monitors that accompany the young people, since they have worked in technology companies linked to their proposals.
The courses offered to young people, once completed, are certified by the TecnoCampus Foundation. The document, although it is typical of the university, guarantees that the course has been completed, the acquisition of the necessary skills to pass it and its duration.
"The Xnergic summer campus is very useful for those adolescents who have a vocation related to technology, since we provide them with the tools so that they can learn and we try to help them so that they can get closer to their goals," says Dr. Marco. Anthony Rodriguez.
The registration process began on May 3 and will end on June 18. The courses will begin on June 26 and will last approximately one month, until July 21. Course prices are reduced for large families.
“As a TecnoCampus teacher, I have met many undergraduate students who had previously gone through Xnergic and in general they remember it with great affection. Many of these students end up interested in carrying out projects, which continues the cycle. For me, this is the greatest success of the project”, concludes the coordinator of the program to promote technological vocations and the summer technological campus.
