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A free, all-girls hackathon is being held this fall through Women in Computing at Rochester Institute of Technology. Applications are open until Oct. 25 for sixth- through 12th-grade girls to join the program called ROCGirl Hacks – aimed at learning and teaching code, working together and encouraging interest in technology.

Thanks to a grant from the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation through the New ERA Women Writers Grant Program, the Center for Engaged Storycraft at Rochester Institute of Technology is hosting a series of events throughout the school year – the latest being a Spooky Storytelling event Oct. 29 for 11th- and 12th-grade women and non-binary students from the Greater Rochester area.

For the first time, the K-12 University Center at Rochester Institute of Technology is facilitating the Rochester Prep High School capstone program, which annually allows students from the Rochester-based charter school the chance to work with university faculty members and participate in hands-on research in a variety of STEM disciplines.

RIT’s K-12 University Center hosted an event with the campus admissions office to better expose Rochester Prep High School seniors to various programs offered at the university. It started with a presentation and tour of campus, followed by lunch, and a question-and-answer session with RIT students.

This summer, RIT’s youth summer camps will be back in person for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. RIT will be offering a variety of youth residential and day camps.

Rochester Institute of Technology will host a day of empowering workshops for Latina girls and young women. ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 30 in the RIT Student Alumni Union.

RIT has an emerging new hotspot for interdisciplinary research about 25 minutes from the main campus. The Tait Preserve includes a 60-acre lake and a private mile of Irondequoit Creek adjacent to Ellison Park, offering endless opportunities for research, education, and conservation activities.

RIT’s summer day camp programs offer young learners a foray into astrophysics, cybersecurity, energy and the environment, and college readiness. While RIT’s regular in-person Camp Tiger is on hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, RIT’s K-12 University Center is providing select programs via a secure virtual platform through RIT’s Innovative Learning Institute.

RIT had its best year ever for sponsored research funding. For fiscal year 2020, which ended June 30, RIT received 382 new awards totaling $82 million. The record funding follows almost $58 million in research expenditures in fiscal year 2019, also a record.

RIT’s Upward Bound summer program is providing area high school students a preview of life as a college student. This year, 24 students from the Leadership Academy for Young Men and Greece Olympia High School participated in the six-week enrichment program, held virtually for the first time due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Douglas Merrill, who inspired countless students during his 40-year tenure in the College of Science and the College of Health Sciences and Technology, has retired. He developed the Premedical Advisory Program and created the Center for Bioscience Education and Technology. And he retires with numerous honors recognizing his outstanding teaching and commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The K-12 University Center at RIT is offering virtual summer camp programming this year centered around the popular roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons. A series of weeklong workshops for students in fifth to 12th grades will run July 6 through Aug. 14.