BCT CityLab: Blurring the Lines between High School, College, and Industry

BCT CityLab: Blurring the Lines between High School, College, and Industry

by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed
Using the Boston Metro area as a real-world classroom, the College of Natural Sciences (CNS) this summer launched a new immersive pre-college program – the BCT CityLab – a first-ever offering at the UMass Mount Ida Campus, for high school juniors and seniors interested in exploring building construction, sustainability, engineering, architecture, and technology-related learning and career pathways. The inaugural program attracted students from five states (MA, NJ, CT, UT, IL) and three countries (Honduras, Switzerland, USA). Each participant learned about college life and earned college credits while engaging in construction site tours, hands-on fabrication projects and skills trainings.  The innovative program was designed to make learning fun, and to build tangible learning pathways to access Boston’s innovation economy. In the Building Physics Module, students learned about heat transfer and thermodynamics in buildings and how construction, control, and maintenance affect the related thermal processes. Then students applied what they learned in a real-world context – the 72-acre Mount Ida campus located in...
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Introducing: BCT’s New Summer “CityLab” Pre-College Program in Newton

Introducing: BCT’s New Summer “CityLab” Pre-College Program in Newton

by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed
This summer, BCT is offering an exciting opportunity for high-schoolers in the Boston area to learn about buildings, cities, and the many technologies that are used to create and operate them as part of a two-week summer pre-college program. This program, housed at our beautiful Mount Ida campus in Newton, MA can be attended as a commuter, but a residential option is also available. See below for more information. CityLab The BCT (Building & Construction Technology) CityLab is a two-week immersive pre-college program for high school students interested in exploring building construction, sustainability, engineering, architecture, and technology-related career paths. The BCT CityLab course format includes a series of daily hands-on activities including construction site tours, use of emergent technologies (drones, infrared cameras, air quality testing, AR/VR), software (Fusion 360, SketchUp, Minecraft, AutoCAD), and fabrication tools (specialty 3D printers/lasers, hand/power tools, industrial sewing machines, CNC equipment). Students also conduct science lab experiments and participate in service-learning activities. The learning experience culminates with a design-build...
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The Sustainability Road Less Traveled: BCT’s Applied Learning Pathways Lead to Jobs

The Sustainability Road Less Traveled: BCT’s Applied Learning Pathways Lead to Jobs

by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed
During the last year, 10 pioneering UMass students took the road less traveled – pursuing the BCT (Building Construction Technology) Applied Learning Pathways, a new option for students to ‘study abroad’ at the Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst in Newton, Massachusetts. Students worked one-on-one with a faculty sponsor to create a customized, hands-on learning experience based on their interests in sustainability. These one-of-a kind pathways built the students’ confidence and portfolios (i.e. GIS mapping, augmented/virtual experiments, original research, multi-media videos, 3D models) as they collectively pursued more than 30 academic credits toward the completion of their degrees. “As a master’s degree student at UMass, I wanted my learning to be meaningful and to have an impact,” said Abigail Moore, B.S. ’19, M.S, ’21. “The Independent Study project I designed with my professor focused on the idea of ‘Living Buildings;’ structures that generate more than they consume – and I was able to focus on understanding how these buildings can work with...
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BCT Welcomes Students to UMass for Fall 2020!

BCT Welcomes Students to UMass for Fall 2020!

by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed
Welcome back to UMass to all our undergrad and grad students! And welcome to all incoming students of the class of 2024! Fall 2020 is certainly a semester like no other. While we are all protecting ourselves and our families and friends by observing social distancing rules due to COVID-19, our classes are now offered fully remote in an online format.  This is certainly a change from previous semesters, but our faculty are committed to providing an inspiring and engaging educational experience nonetheless. News As we start the new semester, there is some exciting news to share: We are welcoming Paul Wolff to our faculty! Paul is a lifelong educator and maker and has dedicated his professional career to environmental conservation, sustainable development, and experiential learning. He is located at the UMass Amherst Mount Ida campus in Newton, MA and will be teaching courses for our professional certificate and graduate programs (e.g. a graduate LEED course), as well as provide industry outreach for our...
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