Altium Advances STEM Education, New Partnerships Sparking a Passion for Electronics Design

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In September 2020, Altium LLC, a leading printed circuit board (PCB) software company, launched Upverter Education, a free distance learning initiative to support STEM educators.

The free Electronics Design Essentials program was designed for high school STEM teachers covering everything from engineering to robotics, with guided courses, certification and Upverter, an easy-to-use web-based tool for electronics design.

Rea Callender, Vice President of Altium Education, elaborates, “Through Altium’s education initiatives, beginning with Upverter Education, we are introducing students of all ages to electronics design and sparking passion in people where they never knew it existed. You can’t have a passion for something if you don’t know it exists!”

Cultivating Greater Student Knowledge with Expanded Curriculums

To better support STEM educators, in summer 2021, a free, more advanced Upverter Education program was launched to further empower progressive learning.

The advanced program—the Upverter Modular Electronics Design—focuses on modular board design, allowing students to grow their knowledge while applying the fundamental concepts, empowering progressive learning in virtual, hybrid, and in-person classroom settings.

The modular design program delves deeper into the electronics design process, allowing students to work with a drag-and-drop interface, taking them step by step through the creation of hardware designs.

Empowering STEM Educators Worldwide with Google Classroom and First Robotics

Upverter Education recently became a Google Classroom partner, as part of the Google for Education initiative. The partnership adds multiple tools to the Upverter Education website, including Google Single Sign On, Classroom Share, and Classroom Rostering, expanding access to teachers and students worldwide.

Upverter Education has also partnered with First Robotics and have been included as a free resource in this year's "Virtual Kit" giving robotics teams access to curriculum and tools teaching electronics design.

As Rea Callender elaborates, “We are delighted to have created a relationship with First Robotics in support of their teams as well as with Google Classroom, bringing Upverter Education to a much broader, global audience.”