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These bi-weekly calls will help to facilitate a community in which coaches and mentors can ask questions and learn about different aspects of FIRST Tech Challenge.

Goals of the Coach/Mentor Calls:

  • Help coaches and mentors throughout the FTC Season.
  • Connect coaches and mentors with each other, future connections for future questions or issues.
  • Educate attendees about changes within FTC.
  • Expand the knowledge base of attendees. Help attendees think outside of the box of what they normally would have considered.
  • Share the expectations FTC-Iowa has for coaches and mentors.

Dates:

Every other Wednesday starting on Sept. 4, 2024. The calls will begin at 7:00pm Central Time and will typically take 1 hour, unless otherwise noted.

Themes:

 

Date
Time
Topic
Presenter
Recording
Sept. 4, 20247pm - 8:30pm

Engineering Design Process (EDP)

  • How to use the EDP with your team to prevent student frustration and to make progress on the robot.
Scott Anson, 
Coach, Mentor & Volunteer

Part 1: The Engineering Design Process

Part 2: Practicing the Engineering Design Process

Slide deck

Sept. 11, 20247pm

Career Prep services: For Students

  • Introduction to Career Prep for students
  • Why its important for students to have a good resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, etc.
  • Targeted audience: students
Kalindi Garvin, 
Director of Engineering Professional Development, College of Engineering 

Recording with Kalindi Garvin

Resume guide

Sept. 18, 20247pm 

Changes for the 2024-2025 Season 

  • Where do we need to register?
    • FIRST portal for Students 
    • FTC-Iowa
    • Volunteers
  • New Items for “Into The Deep” - what has changed from last season.
Rebecca Whitaker,
Program Delivery Partner, Iowa
FIRST Tech Challenge
College of Engineering
University of Iowa		Recording of call
Oct. 2, 20247pm Coach & Mentor ResourcesSusan Eckert,
FIRST Senior Mentor

Recording of call

Slide deck

Oct 9, 20247pm

Admission at the College of Engineering

  • How students should prepare for admission.
  • The requirements for admission

  • Targeted audience: students

     

Lexi Hughes, 
Assistant Director,
Admissions and Outreach
College of Engineering		Recording of call
Oct. 16, 20247pm Preparing for meetsTBD 
Oct. 30, 20247pm Open Discussion with League Admins
Each league will have a breakout room for small group discussions		League Admins from Iowa 
Nov 13, 20247pm 

Scouting

  • Why scouting is important and how one team scouts.
Team 9974, T.H.O.R. 
Nov. 27, 20247pm

The Engineering Portfolio

  • What makes a strong portfolio?
  • What do judges look for?
  • What to avoid?
Team 13415, Electric Storm 
Dec. 11, 20247pm

How to Prepare for a Tournament

  • The biggest difference between a meet and a tournament is the judging component. An Iowa Judge Advisor will discuss how to prepare for the judges interview.
  • Each tournament is a bit different, regarding facility, pit accommodations, dining options, etc. Tournament hosts will be available for small group discussion.
Judge Advisor & Tournament hosts 
Jan. 8, 20257pm

The Dean's List

  • What does the Dean's List mean?
  • How can coaches nominate a strong Dean's List candidate?
  • How do interviews work in Iowa?
Madison Kriege 
Jan. 22, 20257pm

Student Leadership Board (SLB)

Hear from current SLB members.

  
Feb. 5, 20257pm

Off-Season Opportunities: Fundraising and Summer Camps

  • The best time to do fundraising is during the off-season. Hear from successful coaches and mentors about what they do to raise money outside of team grants.
  • The off-season is also the best time to do outreach and recruit future FTC students. Hear from teams about their off-season programming.
  

All calls will be conducted via Zoom. Attendees must sign-up to participate.