Little Sustainable Engineer Summer Camp

The development of a city is not only determined by its economic level. Having a comfortable and good living environment is also one of the important factors that make people feel happy. However, as the city develops steadily, so do the problems that come with it. As an international engineering company, CTCI is deeply convinced that the implementation of sustainable education must start from the "young" when facing 17 SDGs issues such as climate change, global warming and water scarcity, while promoting urban construction and development. Therefore, together with CTCI Education Foundation and Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy, the "Little Sustainable Engineer Summer Camp" was jointly organized, and the first event was officially launched in 2020, with 49 fifth and sixth grade students from 32 primary schools enthusiastically participating in the two-phased activities.

This is the second time the summer camp was held— deferred from last year due to the pandemic. The summer camp not only welcomed the children of CTCI staff, but also for the first time invited students from the rural Wanli Elementary School. In all, 56 students from 20 elementary schools had much fun time.

The first stop of the summer camp was unveiled at the first headquarters building of CTCI. Under the guidance of a team of engineers, students had a chance to experience virtual reality (VR) and personally operated the 3D stereoscopic model to simulate actual engineering scene. By immersing themselves in the scene, students could clearly understand how engineering design planning and 3D model construction works, as well as learn about some practical key points.

At the second stop, Hsiao-Chin Luo, an instructor from CP Yen Foundation, invited students to play their roles as little mayors in the "2030 SDGs Board Game." In the game, students had to deal with various environmental problems encountered by the city, grow their awareness on environmental sustainability, and realize that every behavior and decision they make would bring an impact and change to the world. This year’s summer camp is different from the previous one in that there is a new course on 3D printing, allowing students to have hands-on experience playing with Tinker cad and create their unique 3D models based on their own creativity and the technical skills they learned.

In order to let the students understand the importance of energy to human activities, and the necessity of energy efficiency management, the next event brought them to TAIPOWER D/S ONE, aimed at promoting green energy education. This interactive, technology-based experience space, ENERGYM, comes from a combination of "Energy" and "Gym" concepts, and through the spirit of the Fab Lab STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics), it allows students to open the green energy switch and explore the value of energy science through creative courses.

The final stop is Green Dream Plant in Miaoli County, owned by ECOVE, an affiliate of CTCI Group. Inside the plant, there is a special theme space for resources recycling that allow students to learn things while having fun. Through edutainment, students can resonate with environmental education policies such as energy conservation and carbon reduction while actively practice environmental protection actions.

The three-day "Little Sustainable Engineer Summer Camp" is an event filled with engineering expertise and care for sustainability. Students became more aware of environmental sustainability by participating in a rich and diverse course program, hearing the stories of engineers, and going on field trips. At the end of the event, students wrote their unique "Sustainability Books" by jotting down their experiences from the summer camp. We hope that these future masters would not only improve their SDGs' literacy, but also put the concept of sustainable cities into practice in their daily lives, becoming little spokespersons for sustainable living!

Group photo of the first phase activity

A team of engineers at CTCI guided the participants to immerse themselves in virtual reality

Students play “2030 SDGs Board Game.”

Students draw objects for 3D printing.

Students visit TAIPOWER D/S ONE ENERGYM

A field trip to Green Dream Factory in Miaoli County

**For the latest information of CTCI Education Foundation, please visit our official website (ctcief.org/) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CTCIEF).