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Expert Comment

Enabling summer

education option

RAYMOND RAVAGLIA

LTHOUGH THEY ARE BECOMING increasingly The best a student can do during
popular, most university summer programs are
inherently deceptive. These programs feed upon summer is something that would be
Athe desire of parents and students to attend top- unavailable during the year. Summer
ranked institutions in the hope that early familiarity with a
famous university will send a strong signal that the student is the ideal time for internships and
belongs in that institution. Nothing could be further from structured programmes
the truth.
With few exceptions, summer programs do not repre-
sent the university of the regular year. Regular students go for Creative Studies and Northwood University, goes be-
home, and regular faculty primarily pursue research. The yond traditional classroom learning by providing students
summer faculty are typically adjuncts or graduate students hands-on experiences and real-world exposure to careers.
hired for the purpose, and the other students are just there Topics explored during the program include transportation
for the summer. Consequently, success in summer courses design, innovation and entrepreneurship, robotics, AI and
does not signal anything to admissions officers about a stu- autonomous vehicles, and cybersecurity.
dent’s academic competitiveness, as much as her ability to ne aspect that sets this summer program apart is its ex-
pay tuition. Such courses may actually generate a counter Operiential approach to learning. Students don’t merely
signal. attend lectures; they actively engage with industry profes-
The best a student can do during the summer is some- sionals, visit cutting-edge facilities, and work on projects
thing that would otherwise be unavailable during the year. that mirror the challenges faced by contemporary automo-
Summer is the ideal time for internships and structured tive innovators. Students also get a glimpse into the future
programs that expose students to corporate environments of mobility. This includes emerging technologies such as
and the world of work. This is a time for students to explore electric vehicles, autonomous driving systems, and connect-
their interests and discover how they want to spend their ed car solutions, reshaping the industry and creating new
lives. This is important because the purpose of education career opportunities. Through these immersive experiences
is not to create perpetual students; it is to prepare young and by engaging with innovative advancements firsthand,
people to enter the real world. The best way for students students gain an understanding of what is required to suc-
to generate meaningful signals to college admission offi- ceed in the world of work, while also beginning to envision
cers is to show they have what it takes to succeed in college their roles in shaping the future of transportation.
and life. Parents would do well to remember this when they Perhaps most importantly, this summer program em-
chart their children’s summers. powers students to make informed decisions about their
Carefully crafted programs occurring at the intersection academic and professional paths. It is bolstered by an in-
of internship and study are rare, but they do exist. Such ternship fair featuring 15 companies partnered with the
programs ideally provide the dual benefit of exposure to Hall, and supported by the Michigan Colleges Alliance
the world of work while also providing students with formal and Global Detroit. By experiencing the reality of work in
transcripts and credits. The former ensures that students the mobility industry, participants can determine whether
gain something useful, while the latter guarantees that they this field aligns with their passions, talents, and goals.
don’t feel they are missing out on something they could From the perspective of the Automobile Hall of Fame
have had. there is a sense of urgency in developing the talent pipeline.
America’s Automotive Hall of Fame has devised such The Hall identifies over 300,000 open positions in mobility,
a program. The Hall was originally created to honour pio- which is likely to increase in the years to come as the need
neers, innovators, and legends of the automobile industry for talent continues to outpace its rate of production. This
and to celebrate the ingenuity, leadership, and entrepre- is why even though the Hall is beginning with a modest goal
neurial spirit that have shaped America’s massive automo- of 100 students coming together for a two-week program,
tive industry. With its evolution into the broader mobility they have set an ambitious goal to reach 1,000 students in
industry, the Hall has expanded its mission to include iden- five years, with a plan to continue to grow from there.
tifying, educating, and developing much-needed talent. To- My advice to parents and students considering summer
wards this end, they have engineered an annual High-Tech programs is to stop obsessing over brand and instead focus
Mobility Summer Institute that brings companies and uni- on fit. Summer is not the time for playing dress up and pre-
versities together to enable high school students to immerse tend; it’s the time to roll up sleeves and seriously explore
themselves in the dynamic world of the mobility industry. pathways to the future.
This two-week program hosted at the University of De- (Raymond Ravaglia is former Director of Pre-collegiate Studies, Stanford
troit Mercy that includes participation from the College University)

36 EDUCATIONWORLD MAY 2024