Brandie Erickson
By Brandie Erickson
In today’s digital age, students are learning technology at younger ages. No matter what career students are interested in, gaining hands-on experience in technology can help them gain valuable skills.
As summer approaches, students should consider attending a summer program concentrated on technology, especially if their school curriculum doesn’t offer them much opportunity to explore the field. Here are some of the hidden benefits of attending a technology-focused summer program.
Entrepreneurial Skills
When students are exposed to technology, they are also encouraged to be more creative, innovative, or learn how to solve problems. Students who learn computer science are also taught to approach problems systematically and break them down into manageable steps. Understanding technology can better position high school students to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. These skills can improve the student’s ability to contribute to innovative projects or create their own solutions to problems.
Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Beyond potentially learning a new coding language, students will also learn principles of digital citizenship and responsibility. They might learn digital etiquette, ethical behavior online, or responsible technology use. Having a strong foundation in these skills will help students navigate the digital world safely.
Prepare For the Future
As students transition into their university coursework, they might find having basic knowledge in technology will help them. Understanding digital platforms and other tools might help them with projects or research.
Additionally, when students start looking for jobs, they might find that being digitally literate can help them in almost every single career field, from engineering, business, mathematics, healthcare and more. Having an interdisciplinary approach can give students a leg up in their job search.
Many college and university programs integrate technology into their coursework. High school students exposed to technology are better prepared for the academic demands of higher education, where digital tools and platforms are commonly used for research, collaboration, and project work.
Coding As a Universal Language
No matter what country a student is from, coding can be a unifying language that can connect people from all cultures. It can help people worldwide collaborate on projects and is a skill that can quite literally be taken anywhere.
Top Tech-Focused Summer Programs for High School Students
Columbia University Introduction to Programming with Java
â— Location: Virtual
â— Dates: 7/15/25 – 7/26/25
â— Cost: $3,850
â— Age requirements: 9th-12th graders
â— Deadline: Not available
â— Overview: Two-week program teaching Java programming fundamentals, algorithms, and object-oriented programming. Students learn logical reasoning and participate in college-prep activities.
Computer Science for Cyber Security (CS4CS)
â— Location: New York University (NYU)
â— Dates: 7/1/25 – 8/9/25
â— Cost: Free
â— Age requirements: 9th-11th graders from NYC and neighboring cities
â— Deadline: 4/14/25
â— Overview: Three-week cybersecurity program teaching digital forensics, steganography, hacking, and cryptography. No prior experience in computer science is required, and it aims to empower underrepresented populations in cybersecurity.
Naval Academy Summer STEM Program
â— Location: U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, MD)
â— Dates: 6/2/25 – 6/20/25 (depending on grade level)
â— Cost: $750
◠Age requirements: Rising 9th–11th graders
â— Deadline: Applications open on 1/6/25
â— Overview: One-week residential program focusing on problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration in coding, game development, and robotics.
Rising Researchers
â— Location: Virtual
â— Dates: ongoing/flexible start date
â— Cost: Designing a Science Fair Project – $2,900, Bioinformatics – $7,900
â— Age requirements: 8th-12th graders
â— Deadline: Applications open
â— Overview: Rising Researchers is a sister company of Moon Prep and has two options available. The first is a 15-session bioinformatics program where students will build a strong foundation in data analysis and learn no-code tools for artificial intelligence and machine learning. The second option is a 6-session program focused on designing a science fair project or developing a conference presentation. Both programs are fully customizable.
There are also summer programs at UNC Chapel Hill, NC State University, and UNC Charlotte.
For more details, you can contact Brandie Erickson at [email protected].
