Powered by PACS: Students Get Hands-on With Robotics

Passport Academy Charter School (PACS) has teamed up with Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Academy to bring Smart Manufacturing and Advanced Robotics training directly to our students in an exciting new partnership. Through this hands-on program, students will learn the fundamentals of building basic circuits and progressively advance to constructing small robots and eventually programming them. The curriculum is designed to prepare students with the foundational knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to succeed as Robotics Technicians, while also assessing their future aptitude and interest in the field. In a city like Pittsburgh—or as some might call it, “RoboBurgh”—where many startups are dedicated to robotics and technology, this program is uniquely beneficial.

“When the companies are ready to go to scale, there will be a need for workers who have foundational robotics skills and can assemble, troubleshoot, operate and repair robots,” said Vu Nguyen, Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Academy. ​ “Students at Passport Academy may not have otherwise had the opportunity to learn these skills, nor have the connections for potential opportunities.”

The PACS Robotics Program, which began in the 2023-2024 school year as a club for a select group of enthusiastic students, has quickly grown in popularity. Now, for the 2024-2025 school year, the program is offered as an elective in the official school schedule. This also enables students to earn college credit for the course at certain community colleges, including CCAC, Westmoreland County Community College and Pittsburgh Technical College. The program not only expands students’ learning opportunities but also provides tangible benefits, such as a stipend and a laptop upon completion of the program.

“Our students have completed the first unit of the Electrical Foundations course, where they built a light box with multiple switches,” said instructor Curtis Sobien. “Through this experience, they’ve developed a solid understanding of circuit control, which will serve them well as they move on to more complex projects like designing an e-panel for robotic systems.”

Sobien discusses the PACS Robotics Program

Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Academy has already proven its effectiveness in other schools, with over 16,000 students enrolled in their programs nationwide. The results speak for themselves: 69% of students are more likely to continue their education in a technical field, 61% are more likely to pursue a technical career, and 9% have already secured positions in related industries. These numbers demonstrate the powerful impact we expect this program to have on our students at PACS as they explore future careers in robotics and automation.

“We coordinate with local companies to provide site visits so that they can talk to the technicians, and also the hiring managers so that they can learn directly from the folks who are there,” said Nguyen.

PACS students hone their robotics skills through the newly launched program.

This year, ten PACS students are taking the leap into the future, empowered to gain valuable skills and explore pathways to a career in robotics. The future is bright for these students as they take charge of their learning and open doors to opportunities that will shape the next chapter of their lives.

“It’s been great to see the excitement this program has generated already, and to know our students are laying the groundwork for their futures makes it even better,” said PACS Principal Joe Oliphant. “We hope this is only the beginning for this partnership.”

Stay tuned for more updates on student successes #PoweredByPACS via our newsroom.