Community News

Eastern Michigan University will host the eighth annual Bits and Bytes, a camp designed to educate middle school girls about careers and teaching opportunities in computer science. The all-day, week-long camp will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Eastern’s campus from June 24 to 28, 2024.

Bits and Bytes, staffed by EMU Women in Computer Science club members and led by a faculty member, aims to foster a supportive and encouraging environment. This near-peer mentoring approach has been shown to motivate girls to comfortably navigate an otherwise difficult or unfamiliar concept in computer science and technology.

“At the camp, participants will not only learn about computing and technology from theoretical concepts but also apply their knowledge to real-world projects,” said Krish Narayanan, computer science professor and program director. “They will get hands-on experience with coding using educational software and robots, and explore the exciting realms of game development, mobile app creation, drone flying, and robot programming.”

Concluding the camp, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a hackathon and career discovery event.

Over the years, many sponsors have supported the camp. The National Center for Women and Information Technology, EMU Women in Philanthropy, and Michigan Space Grant Consortium (NASA) have all contributed to its success.

Bits and Bytes, a summer computing camp, was born in 2012 as a small initiative in a basement for Narayanan’s middle school daughter and her friends. Since then, it has grown exponentially, making its debut at EMU in 2017. Today, it proudly continues to serve middle school girls in and around Washtenaw County, igniting their passion for computer science.

For more information, contact bits_and_bytes@emich.edu. To register for this year’s Bits and Bytes camp, visit here.