Digital Agriculture Summer Course

Registrations are now being accepted for the 3rd annual Illinois Digital Agriculture Summer Course, funded by the CHS Foundation and hosted by the Center for Digital Agriculture, the Department of Animal Sciences, and Illinois 4-H. Together with students from around the world, you will have an opportunity to study with the University of Illinois faculty and experts in Digital Agriculture and related STEM disciplines. We encourage participation from high school students in the 10th grade or above, community college, and university students who can demonstrate a basic knowledge of STEM concepts. This online course will offer instruction around coding, data science, IoT, and modern remote sensing technology with an emphasis on applications that address real-world problems with our food system. This course will culminate in a design thinking competition judged by UIUC faculty and staff.

Topics We’ll Explore:

Coding

Precision Agriculture
Precision Management of Animals
Artificial Intelligence
Image processing
IoT
Big Data

Application

We invite you to apply to the Illinois Digital Agriculture Summer Course if you are:

At least 16 years old by the program starting date, and
Entering your sophomore, junior, or senior year of high school or an undergraduate student in Fall 2021.

We strongly encourage the participation of Parkland and University of Illinois students as well as any undergraduate or high-school students in the 10^th grade or above who can demonstrate a basic knowledge of STEM concepts.

Admission decisions take into consideration your high school grades, essays, and a 2-page CV.

High school application: https://forms.gle/2eEGGPfG86Wa9V9q7

College application: https://forms.gle/u1NrhfoAmuTYPums6

Application Deadline

The deadline to submit your application and supplemental materials is Friday, July 21^st, 2023, but preference will be given to students who apply by Monday, July 3^rd, 2023.

Apply here

Decisions will be made, and applicants will receive notification of acceptance status within three weeks of the application date.

Required Documents

Registration fee: Registration for the short course is $50.00. A link to pay for the registration will be sent after applications are reviewed. Scholarships are available to cover registration costs. If you have any questions or need financial assistance, please contact Dr. Isabella Condotta at icfsc@illinois.edu
Online application form – High School students or Online application form – undergraduate students
High School transcript (unofficial transcripts are accepted)
2-page CV
- The 2-page CV and transcripts should be emailed to Dr. Isabella Condotta at icfsc@illinois.edu.
Apply here

Schedule

The course will take place from Monday, July 24 – Friday, July 28, 2023. A time commitment of 3-hours of in-person meetings and 2-5-hours of offline work per day will be required. Offline work is depending on students’ individual space.

Design Thinking Competition

A real-world problem that students will have to solve will be released on Monday, July 24^th. The competition will happen between 3:30 PM on Thursday, July 27^th, and 3:30 PM on Friday, July 28^th. At that time, groups will present their findings in a 5-minute presentation, and winners will be announced by the end of the day.

A feature on the University’s website and cash prizes* will be awarded to the winners of the competition.

* Available to US residents.