The Jumpstart Program is meant to organize women for careers in robotics. | Supply: MassRobotics
This week, MassRobotics introduced that Cohort 6 functions are open for its Jumpstart Fellowship. The group additionally gave an replace on this system’s progress in its five-year report.
Jumpstart programming will on Saturdays from January by way of Might 2026. It should embrace a full week of periods and subject journeys to robotics corporations through the public faculty trip week of Feb. 16 to twenty. After that, college students can achieve real-world expertise by way of paid internships at a robotics or expertise firm.
All feminine highschool juniors and seniors with a ardour for robotics and expertise are inspired to use, with Boston college students given precedence. They’ll apply on-line for the Jumpstart Fellowship.
candidates can meet Jumpstart alumnae and mentors onsite at MassRobotics’ annual Robotic Block Occasion on Saturday, Sept. 27. College students will be capable to ask questions and study extra straight from them and the Jumpstart Program Supervisor.
“Getting into the skilled world just isn’t simple, however this program has labored with us to make this path so much simpler,” mentioned Tairine, a 2022 graduate of this system.
5 years of the Jumpstart Fellowship
MassRobotics created the Jumpstart Fellowship Program in 2021 to supply alternatives for numerous Massachusetts highschool women to study careers in robotics and put together for future pathways in STEM (science, expertise, engineering, and arithmetic).
The program supplies college students a stable basis in technical expertise, mentioned MassRobotics. The Jumpstart program additionally provides an expert community and mentors who give assist and foster confidence, in addition to direct engagement with business professionals.
A key a part of the Jumpstart program is ensuring these younger ladies really feel assured and empowered to enter STEM fields, the group mentioned. College students can study varied profession paths and leverage their research into careers in robotics by way of lab and firm visits.
Prior to now 5 years, MassRobotics’ Jumpstart Fellowship has empowered 98 highschool women throughout Massachusetts to discover alternatives in STEM fields. To date, 88% of graduates are pursuing STEM careers, with many already contributing to the state’s innovation financial system by way of internships and college analysis.
Nearly all of Jumpstart alumnae are specializing in engineering disciplines or pc science, reflecting this system’s emphasis on problem-solving, innovation, and technical expertise, in line with MassRobotics.
“This system not solely helped me envision myself as an engineer for the primary time, however [it] additionally helped me discover my spark — pun meant — in electrical engineering,” mentioned Catherine, a 2024 graduate. “I might not be the scholar and individual I’m right this moment with out the assist of the MassRobotics Jumpstart program.”
MassRobotics may even rejoice Girls in Robotics and the achievements of feminine researchers at its annual black-tie gala on Oct. 25 on the MIT Samberg Middle. This occasion will honor Robotics Medal recipient Maja Mataric, a UCLA professor, for her pioneering work within the subject of socially assistive robots and for making important developments to the sector of distributed robots and studying in human-robot methods.
The gala may even acknowledge Rising Star medal recipient Tania Morimoto, a UC San Diego professor, for her contributions to novel tender and versatile medical robots and human-machine interfaces designed to enhance entry to high-quality care.
Jumpstart graduates shall be company on the occasion, and one will share her expertise collaborating in this system.
Editor’s be aware: See our ongoing protection of STEM schooling, together with our current piece on the way it and robotic competitions can profit tomorrow’s workforce.
Join with MassRobotics at RoboBusiness
MassRobotics shall be collaborating in RoboBusiness 2025, which shall be on Oct. 15 and 16 on the Santa Clara Conference Middle. The group shall be working its Startup Boot Camp, a two-part session that can cowl lots of the challenges of rising and scaling a robotics startup.
RoboBusiness is the premier occasion for builders and suppliers of business robots. It should additionally characteristic greater than 60 audio system and the annual Pitchfire competitors. As well as, there shall be quite a few networking alternatives and over 100 exhibitors on the present ground.
Registration is now open for RoboBusiness.
