Introduction to Robotics: Importance of a Summer Camp as a Recruiting Tool for Future University Students

Abstract

This paper describes a robotics summer camp that was held at the University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla Campus (UPR-Aguadilla) during the summer of 2015. This camp gave high school students the opportunity to collaborate with their peers, in a university setting, in the building and programing of robots. The main contribution of this paper is the evaluation of the camp's influence on student enrollment at the UPR-Aguadilla. The impact was evaluated by using pre- and post-test surveys that included content and interest questions. In addition, the pre- and the post-test surveys included questions on whether or not the camp influenced student enrollment at the UPR-Aguadilla. The camp survey results suggest that attendance to the camp had a significant effect on the enrollment of participating students at the UPR-Aguadilla.