Early IT Summer Camp FAQ

The Early IT Summer Camp is a free day camp hosted by the School of Information Technology at the University of Cincinnati. It is designed to give high school students a solid foundation in Information Technology including: cybersecurity, software development, game development and simulation, and data and cloud technologies. Our camp gives students access to learn from esteemed faculty in the School of Information Technology, an opportunity to interact with top industry leaders, and the chance to engage in a series of team-based projects.

The Early IT Summer Camp is free for both the in-person and virtual sessions.

More info to come February 2025.

If you are a high school student who likes technology and wants to solve real-world problems, the Early IT Summer Camp is for you! The camp is intended for any student who is a rising 9th grader through rising 12th graders.

* Please note: for the in-person camp, at this time we can only accept domestic students. Both domestic and international students are welcome to attend the virtual summer camp. 

Students participating in the camp can expect to gain knowledge in the following areas: hands-on experience with software development, game design and development, data management, and cybersecurity. Students will develop an IT related project over the two weeks, allowing them to apply concepts from class to solve an IT problem or meet a unique IT need. 

The Early IT Summer Camp will be led by one of our current SoIT faculty members, along with the assistance of current IT students and alumni in the SoIT program. Students in the camp will be assigned a team and a team Teaching Assistant (TA) who will serve as their mentor. The TA will work closely with their group throughout the entirety of the camp. 

The parent/legal guardian orientation session is TBD and will take place via Zoom. During this orientation, we will provide an overview of the camp, camp schedule, answer questions and discuss next steps. More details regarding this orientation session will be sent out at a later date. If you have any questions or concerns, in the meantime, please contact the Early IT Team at stusucpro@ucmail.uc.edu.

The In-person Early IT Summer Camp will take place Monday, June 2nd - Friday, June 13th. The hours of the camp are 10 am - 4 pm each day.

The camp will take place on UC's Main Campus in the Teacher-Dyer Complex and at the 1819 Innovation Hub.

Please Note: The camp will run Monday-Friday through its duration. 

Students should be dropped off each day for camp no earlier than 8:30 am for a 10 am start and picked up between 4:00-4:30 pm at the University Circle in front of the Teacher-Dyer Complex, Room 160. We ask that you please respect our volunteers' time. If you know that you will not be able to arrive during the drop-off/pickup window, please reach out to stusucpro@ucmail.uc.edu ahead of time so we can coordinate a safe alternative for your child.

Further details will be shared with students and parents/legal guardians on the first day of camp. 

The earliest students can be dropped off is 8:30 am and they will need to be picked up no later than 4:30 pm.

We understand emergencies/situations happen and there maybe times your students might need to be dropped off earlier or picked up later.  We ask that you please provide us as much advance notice on this, so we can ensure we have camp personnel available. 

In addition, if there is to be a change of plans for how a student will be leaving camp (for example, walking home and/or leaving with other campers), we will need to have written consent from the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) prior to the change of plans. 

We want students to have an exciting and memorable experience! Each day will begin with our Camp Instructors leading a collaborative/interactive discussion on the day's topic. Topics range from cybersecurity to data and cloud technologies. Then we will have guest appearances from university leaders and industry professionals. These sessions will include interactive demos and a Q&A period. After a lunch break, students will apply what they learned that morning in a team activity and group project guided by their group's Teaching Assistant (TA). 

Students will receive a light breakfast and lunch every day of camp. Light breakfast will be provided at the start of camp at 10am. Lunch will be provided around 12pm each day. 

Students will be provided with equipment and all necessary materials each day. Students will only be asked to bring a reusable water bottle with them, which they will be given on the first day of camp. 

Students will be provided access to a computer or laptop to use while at camp. All activities and work will be done between the hours of 9am-4pm while at camp. 

At this time we can only accept domestic students for the In-Person Camp. Both domestic and international students are welcome to attend the virtual summer camp. 

The Virtual Early IT Summer Camp will take place Monday, June 16th - Friday, June 27th. The hours of the camp are 9am-2pm each day. Students can attend camp through Zoom and Microsoft Teams.  

Please Note: The camp will run Monday-Friday through its duration.

We want students to have an exciting and memorable experience! Each day will begin with our Camp Instructors leading a collaborative/interactive discussion on the day's topic. Topics range from cybersecurity to data and cloud technologies. Then we will have guest appearances from university leaders and industry professionals. These sessions will include interactive demos and a Q&A period. After a lunch break, students will apply what they learned that morning in a team activity and group project guided by their group's Teaching Assistant (TA). 

A computer with a webcam/camera, microphone, and reliable internet access will be needed for the camp. We do not encourage students to use a cell phone as an alternative to a computer during the camp.

The School of Information Technology does not believe that lack of access to resources should be a barrier to participation in the camp. If you do not have access to the equipment noted above, please let us know in your camp application. 

If you experience any issues during camp, please reach out to camp staff. We will work with your student to ensure they have access to all camp content and platforms. 

Yes! International students are welcome to attend the Virtual Camp. However, if you are planning to attend virtually, please be aware that the Virtual Camp is offered during the hours of 9:00am-2:00pm EDT. 

For questions, please reach out to the Early IT Team: stusucpro@ucmail.uc.edu.