UC San Diego

Are you interested in medicine, science, and technology? Is you goal to create a life-saving drug? This is a unique opportunity for high school students to gain real exposure and work in a biotechnology lab utilizing state-of-the-art equipment.

Excursions in  San Diego – Students do their daily class directly inside a biotechnology lab. In past summers students toured JLabs and other incubators in San Diego, as well as met with scientists from Sazid Hussain, Chief Scientific Officer of Aivo Code, a biotech company working on therapies for traumatic brain injuries.

Summer Springboard’s Business & Entrepreneurship course on the campus of UCSD introduces aspiring entrepreneurs to the world of business and the areas that affect growing a business. Our course explores the aspects involved in starting, owning, and operating a business – from thinking through ideas, planning a business, and managing various considerations for growing a small business into an enterprise. Topics such as entrepreneurship, idea generation, customer relationships and revenue streams, personnel and human resource management, product design, cost accounting, financial analysis, marketing, and more will all be explored.

Throughout the course, students will work in groups to generate a business idea of their own, and then follow the entrepreneurial process to develop the idea into a feasible prospective business startup. Ultimately, students will pitch their innovative ideas to a panel of business and entrepreneurship “judges” in a Shark-Tank type experience.

Since their rise in popularity and easier and more affordable access by the average consumer, drones are being sold and taking to the skies in record numbers, and for a variety of different purposes – aerial surveying, reconnaissance, product delivery, and cinematography. Summer Springboard’s Drone Cinematography course on the campus of UCSD will combine your passion for drone flying with cinematography. Our course provides a comprehensive overview of the technical and creative aspects of cinematography, where students will learn how to execute a variety of different shots with regards to lighting, framing, and clients’ needs.

If there is anything we’ve been reminded of these past few years, it’s how essential a role our emergency care doctors, nurses, first responders, and other healthcare professionals play in society, and how necessary they are. The average emergency room nurse makes between $77,000 and $107,000, with top earners making $124,500 annually. Whether your goal is to become an EMT or paramedic, an emergency room doctor, an ICU nurse, or any other profession that utilizes emergency care skills, Summer Springboard course in Emergency Medicine on the campus of UCSD will immerse you in a variety of foundational skills and knowledge. Our course will prepare you for a future career in emergency care, and expose you to the healthcare field overall and the various paths you can pursue.

Students will learn a variety of skills and techniques, ranging from basic first aid to triaging emergency situations and wounds, through a variety of hands-on activities and practical simulations. Skills and techniques explored include positioning and extraction, wound care, bleeding control, stitches and sutures, usage of splints and slings, and other life-saving skills.

Students will have the opportunity to research a simulated patients history and symptoms, create a diagnosis based on their findings, and develop a treatment plan. Ultimately, students will be able to apply the knowledge they’ve learned from the course through a simulated mass-disaster scenario. This simulation will teach students how to respond to a patient just like a medical professional, assessing information and applying their medical knowledge in high pressure environments.

Engineering is one of the top desired careers in many companies. If you are considering a career in Engineering, this course will help you explore what it takes to be an engineer. We will explore facets of mechanical, structural, civil, and electrical engineering in a hands-on, minds-on approach.

Excursions in San Diego – Students will engage with professionals in the industry and have an opportunity to visit one or more engineering firms or sites in the greater San Diego area.

When someone has trouble moving or is injured, what can truly help is a non-invasive discipline that helps evaluate and improve mobility and relieve pain. Physical therapy might be just what they need. In this program, you will learn the basics of human anatomy, movement fundamentals, and exercise principles while doing lab work and clinical education.

Students will also gain a basic understanding and learn the physical therapy requirements and the many job opportunities this field can provide through various specialties. Learn to make a positive change in the community by empowering others through physical and mental health.

There’s no better place to study Marine Biology this summer than with Summer Springboard on the campus of UC San Diego. All within minutes of campus, The Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Birch Aquarium, La Jolla Tide Pools and Underwater Park, San Diego-Scripps Coastal State Marine Conservation Area, and Scripps Coastal Reserve – to name just a few – make this the ideal location for practical exposure and hands-on learning possibilities for our students. Summer Springboard students will be able to dive deep into the content of this course in one of the most fitting physical environments – on the campus of UCSD, a university known for its ocean and earth science research and education.

The adult human brain weighs approximately 3 pounds making up less than roughly 2% of a person’s body weight, yet it defines our humanity and makes us the individuals that we are – and yet no two are the same. The brain is responsible for the generation of language, thought, attention, consciousness, memory, imagination, and more. But how? And what makes certain people in society behave one way, and others another? Nothing is more fascinating and mysterious than the inner workings of the brain and human psychology.

In Summer Springboard’s Psychology & Neuroscience course on the campus of UCSD, students will explore these fundamental questions and more. Our course will explore the anatomy of the human brain, how it functions, and how that correlates and influences human behavior. Students will learn about how the brain works, how that affects behavior such as social dynamics, emotions, personality, mental illness, and how psychologists study them. Students will get to construct their own miniature psychology theory, design/run an experiment to test it, and present findings to the class.

Spatial Computing is no longer science fiction – it’s quickly becoming part of our modern day reality, with diverse applications across an array of industries. An umbrella term, Spatial Computing encapsulates Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), and everything in between. Spatial Computing technology creates an immersive experience that can be used to explore an environment that helps to educate and entertain the end user. While its applications in the gaming industry may primarily come to mind when people think about Spatial Computing, its applications have been expanding in recent years to the healthcare, education, entertainment, and automotive industries – among many others – with more to come. As XR is continuing to become more present in our daily and professional lives, the job market is only increasing its demand for its varied development and design skills. There’s no better time to start preparing for this inflection point than with Summer Springboard’s Spatial Computing course on the campus of UCSD.

In our Spatial Computing course, class will be held in a state-of-the-art XR studio. In groups, students will work to design and develop their own Spatial Computing virtual space to explore professional Extended Reality pipelines and leave with a portfolio showcase experience. No prior knowledge in Spatial Computing or software development is required, and all course equipment is supplied. Students are strongly encouraged to bring a PC laptop. (Macs allowed but not all needed software is supported by Apple.)