Welcome to UNCW Summer Ventures! This multi-week, research-intensive program provides students the opportunity to engage in the science and mathematics research process.
UNCW courses highlight areas of STEM and research at our campus. Students will have the pleasure and privilege of working with some of our most innovative faculty on collaborative research projects.
So, take a deep breath and get ready to “dive in” to Summer Ventures at UNCW.
- Erin Moran, Director for Summer Ventures at UNCW
Summer Ventures is open to North Carolina students in the sophomore and junior year of high school. Participants apply to join summer ventures in the Fall with a deadline of January 5, 2025. Students apply to summer ventures as a state program. Accepted students are placed at one of the 4 campuses that host the program. Campuses inlcude App State, University North Carolina Charlotte, East Carolina University, and University North Carolina Wilmington.
Summer 2025 planning is underway for this year's 4-week UNCW Summer Ventures programming in person.
When: Sunday, June 22 to Saturday, July 19, 2025
Modern Biotechnology leverages interdisciplinary scientific knowledges and engineering tools to make useful products based on biological systems in various fields such as medicine, agriculture, energy, and defense. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and other computational tools have opened the door to a new era of exponential growth of Biotechnology. We cordially invite the brightest young minds from North Carolina to embark on an exciting and challenging biotech research expedition this summer.
Join us in collaborative teams as we tackle real-life problems utilizing cutting-edge computational and experimental techniques of biotechnology. This immersive program will introduce you to state-of-the-art methodologies, including bioinformatics, AI-assisted protein design, genome editing, RNA interference, and gene replacement strategies. Using these biotechnology tools, you will design craft innovative solutions to real-life problems in medicine, agriculture, energy, etc. Under expert guidance, you will engage in hands-on laboratory work, mastering the entire process of creating novel recombinant proteins designed by you. This intensive 4-week program mirrors the intricacies of real-world biotech research, encouraging highly exploratory projects that delve into uncharted territories.Sift through the fossil record of coastal North Carolina and discover how the past informs modern conservation efforts. This hands-on field course trains students in methods at the intersection of science, history, and environmental stewardship. Students will examine fossils and ancient ecosystems to address critical conservation challenges. They will analyze fossil records to reconstruct historical ecosystems, develop conservation science skills that align with cutting-edge environmental practices, and apply palaeobiological insights to modern issues like habitat restoration and climate change adaptation.
This course provides practical skills and insights to prepare you for careers in environmental science, resource management, academia, policy advisement, and more. Students in this course will visit fossil outcrops and museums and hear from specialists in the field as part of their learning experience.
Coming soon!