In addition to the concentration core courses in their program of studies, some engineering students have a defined “intellectual cluster” that guides their selection of non-engineering courses. These clusters can range from “minor in history” to simply “sampling a wide range of subjects”. Often, by simply asking students to define a thread or “intellectual cluster” in their studies, they become more focused and motivated in their own education. For example, rather than looking for “the easiest classes that will satisfy my humanities requirement”, they will be planning for “taking these two classes on the history of religion and still graduate in four years”. For the students who join the Robotics Academy, their thread will be “Robotics”. However, this common thread will be composed of different courses for students in different disciplines. For the Electrical Engineering student, this thread will consist of a set of courses different from those for the Child Development student. Each thread is tailored to help the students develop the specialty that they will need in their project. (Each thread is described in detail in the next section.)
Furthermore, the Academy will bring a new form of instruction and learning to the curriculum: the student-taught short courses. These courses will be offered by senior students, once a week, as 4-hour student-led interactive courses where junior students learn how to use the tools necessary for the project. This would include learning visualization and design tools like ProEngineer and AutoCAD, as well as presentation tools like PowerPoint and Macromedia Director. They will also learn basic electronics fabrication and assembly techniques. The seniors who conduct these courses will learn leadership skills and group (or classroom) management skills, as well as speaking and writing skills. They will take initiative in designing the courses and determining the content of these courses.