Grooming the Next Generation of Electronic Designers

Altium’s commitment to advancing electronic design extends far beyond the pale of great printed circuit board (PCB) design software.

Altium features multiple educational initiatives designed to support high school Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teachers and students, along with programs to support college students and industry professionals.

To further our efforts promoting high school STEM programs in the era of remote education, Altium has developed a new distance learning program for electronics design based on Upverter®, a free, web-based PCB design tool that’s easy to learn and use.

The Upverter tool gives educators a new way to help students master the fundamentals of electronic design and engineering. Teachers can collaborate with students on the same design within the online interface for a hands-on learning experience at home. Students can also collaborate with each other using the tool in real-time.

The Upverter Education Program is a free online curriculum, featuring:

• Upverter, an easy to use, web-based tool for editing schematic diagrams and PCB layouts
• Electrical engineering courses for students of all skill levels, including those with no prior exposure to circuit board design
• A library of completed designs for inspiration and teaching
• Responsive support from Upverter Forums for technical questions
• A dedicated Upverter YouTube channel with detailed navigation videos

Altium will also be supporting the International FIRST Robotics competition as part of the Upverter Education initiative launching in November 2020. Several high school robotics teams are already using Upverter to design their entries, including a team at San Diego’s Francis Parker School.

To see how students and teachers are already using Upverter, click here.