06/29/2026
Ivy Tech Kokomoβs third annual Automation & Robotics Mini-camp is officially over but the 20 area high schoolers who participated will long remember the hands-on experience of troubleshooting, programming, and operating industrial automation technology.
The four-day mini-camp introduces high schoolers and homeschooled teens to in-demand STEM careers. It provides a practical glimpse into how technology is transforming modern manufacturing before the students enter college or the workforce. The camp covered areas of basic electricity, robotics, CNC machining, battery technology, pneumatics, and programmable logic controllers.
To round out the experience, the students got to interact with representatives from local manufacturing leaders Haynes, Stellantis, and AndyMark, thanks to the Ivy+ Career Link team who coordinated this session. With the opportunity to ask employers about their companiesβ expectations and to practice interviewing with potential future employers, students got a new perspective on how engineering and automation will reshape the regional labor market.
We are incredibly grateful to the Ivy Tech Foundation, the Gene Haas Foundation and the Battery Innovation Center for their funding and donation of time and talent. Thanks to their contributions, participants had the chance to develop new friendships, dip their toes in industrial technology, and experience a bit or real-life automation and robotics in the workplace.
Be on the lookout next spring for information on the 2027 mini-camp. It promises to be even bigger and better.