CSAC Scholarship Program Guide:Program Highlights
CSAC Summer Camps
Intelligent Systems Summer Camp will be held every summer for every CSAC scholar who is interested in advanced training in AI, machine learning and data science. Two camps will be conducted during the summer: a coding camp and a data science camp. Each camp will offer hands-on activities and will last two weeks. The first coding camp will be extended to all cohorts. The camp will alternate between East Texas A&M, Collin College and Dallas College.
Faculty Mentoring and Career Counseling support
Faculty mentors and advisors will provide mentoring support for career opportunities and academic disciplines.
S-STEM Seminars and Workshops
Workshops and seminars in AI, data science and machine intelligence are held throughout the semester at East Texas A&M, Collin College and Dallas College locations. Throughout each year of the project, CSAC cohorts will join computing seminars at all locations. Invited guests from industry and academia with expertise in all areas of computing will give special talks on a particular subject of their interest, interact, and build connections with the scholars.
Participation in a Peer-Mentoring Cohort
To encourage scholars to pursue and continue their studies in a computing discipline, a student mentorship program will be formed. Mentors will connect with students during summer camps and programming contests and serve as role models for students to pursue and succeed in computing programs. Mentors will cultivate self-efficacy beliefs by monitoring progress, offering encouragement and study skills and sharing their success stories.
IMCS Group Coding Challenge
IMCS Group Coding Challenge exposes students to real-world problems and cultivates their technical and problem-solving skills through programming. Students gain first-hand experience programming in a collaborative setting. Multiple prizes will be awarded by the organizers to encourage participation. This will enhance scholars' programming competency.
Research Mentoring and Professional Networking with S-STEM faculty
As an ongoing program, CSAC scholars will build networking skills to help them with college and careers beyond college life. Personal and professional connections are developed and maintained as powerful and convenient means for intellectual resources. The scholars will develop and build positive relationships with peer scholars that will extend beyond the duration of the program. They will provide mutual support and encouragement to reach their career opportunities and goals.
Resume Writing and Job Search Workshops
Workshops to support scholars with resume writing and career search will be held regularly in collaboration with the Office of Student Career Preparedness.
Travel to Conferences
Grace Hopper or Celebration of Diversity in Computing
Scholars will be exposed to professionals in the field through professional networking events, specifically female-focused and URM-focused events. This includes travel to the Grace Hopper Celebration, the Celebration of Diversity in Computing, or other related conferences.
Summer Research Opportunities and Internships
CSAC scholars will have opportunities to work within computing or related enterprises for internship credits. Students will build a support network with employees and faculty who will provide supervision. The program will effectively build scholars' experience and ability to apply computing knowledge and skills used in the real-world working environment. Opportunities for various summer internships will be available through industry partnerships that are being developed.
Potential partners
- L3Harris Technologies
- Excelacom
- Presbyterian Healthcare System
- Slesha, Inc.
ACM/IEEE Student Chapter Activities
ACM Student Chapter Activities
The Association for Computing Machinery student chapter holds multiple activities. At the time of enrollment, each computing major is invited to participate in the organization. CSAC scholars will work with a faculty advisor and be involved in various academic, social, and professional activities including, but not limited to, job shadowing, distinguished speaker program, tri-mentoring, peer-tutoring, research presentation, buddy system, interdisciplinary activities, mock interviews and computing events focused on diversifying computing disciplines.
IEEE Student Chapter Activities
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers student chapter at East Texas A&M offers students multiple opportunities for networking in their areas of interest and future profession and volunteer leadership. With faculty advisor support, CSAC scholars will be able to build a network for professional opportunities, host professional awareness programs, and get connected with global peers to expand their horizons of potential career pathways.