Thousands Experience U of I Engineering Education Through Virtual and In-Person EXPO

More than 5,000 virtual users across 28 countries experienced engineering and computer science education at the University of Idaho through the 28th annual 2021 Engineering Design EXPO. Visitors were invited to engage in the event through a variety of virtual and in-person pathways.

In one of the first in-person events of the past year, more than 200 engineering students presented more than 50 projects in-person and virtually. Projects highlighted the process and creation of a thoughtfully engineered, tested and validated outcome or prototype. Teams presented the technical details of their projects to nearly 400 viewers, including 65 judges from industry and academia and members of the public. Web visitors browsed student projects remotely and tuned in to project technical presentations via Zoom. Seventy-nine percent of visitors had never visited a U of I website before.

High school and community college students were invited to participate in the EXPO Extended Experience, following along in hands-on activities completed at home or in the classroom and meeting current students, faculty and staff via Zoom sessions for a chance to win STEM prizes or a $2,500 U of I scholarship. Nearly 400 participated in hands-on activities in the classroom and at home using walkthrough videos produced by the college. More than 300 hands-on STEM activity supply boxes were distributed free of charge to schools across Idaho and Washington to help teachers walk their students through STEM activities, including how to build a self-propelled mousetrap car and how to design a water filtration system.

To learn more about EXPO or to sponsor a capstone project or the 2022 event, visit uidaho.edu/expo.