Giving Compass' Take:

• Kristin Musulin shares how the NYU Tandon School of Engineering involves students in smart cities design to engage them in STEM. 

• How can this program be scaled to reach more students? What groups benefit most from opportunities like this? 

• Learn about building equitable smart cities. 

The NYU Tandon School of Engineering was buzzing with energy on July 28 — quite literally in some cases — as dozens of parents, faculty and friends joined for the Science of Smart Cities (SoSC) expo.

Smart bridge technology, solar energy innovations, climate-measuring drones and smart landfill monitors were among the displays that were shown during the expo. Though the inventors and creative minds behind the tech were of a unique demographic: rising sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

Around 65 students completed the SoSC summer camp program this year, which invites middle school students from across New York City to learn about sensors, internet of things (IoT) concepts and other elements of smart city fields. The program focuses on four main sectors: energy, transportation, urban infrastructure and wireless communication.

The summer camp, however, is not a new initiative. In fact, SoSC has been around for seven years, each year opening the doors to a new pool of students who wish to get their hands in STEM research and applications. In a 2017 interview, SoSC founder Ben Esner told Smart Cities Dive, "These technologies don’t stand still," and neither does the interest in them.

Read the full article about involving students in smart city design by Kristin Musulin at Smart Cities Dive.