Here's what makes Connections: Queen’s Summer Engineering Academy (QSEA) stand out
Established in 2013 by Smith Engineering at Queen's University, Connections Engineering Outreach aims to create new opportunities for the greater Kingston community to explore science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). As one of the official Engineering Outreach programs of Smith Engineering, Connections collaborates closely with other outreach initiatives, including Indigenous Futures in Engineering and Black Youth in STEM. By providing experiential learning opportunities for students, teachers, and community members, we strive to spark curiosity and inspire a lifelong passion for STEM in all participants.
The Queens Summer Engineering Academy is known for providing hands-on STEM experiences to high school students, fostering curiosity and passion for engineering. What makes this program special is its immersive, team-based approach, utilizing Queen’s University’s lab facilities for real-world projects. Rooted in accessibility and inclusion, it collaborates with initiatives like Indigenous Futures in Engineering and Black Youth in STEM. We take pride in inspiring the next generation of engineers through creativity, leadership, and experiential learning.
Choose the right programs and sessions for your child; Connections: Queen’s Summer Engineering Academy (QSEA) currently has 3 programs available.
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Registration Details
The Queens Summer Engineering Academy accepts all applicants upon registration, making the sign-up process simple through our registration portal. We do not interview families, either in-person or virtually. For cancellation details, including any fees or penalties, please refer to our Campbrain cancellation policy: connections-summer-programs-cancellation-and-refund-policy-2025.pdf that can be found on our webpage.
The Our Kids review of Connections: Queen’s Summer Engineering Academy (QSEA)
For young people with a passion for engineering, attending the Connections sessions has the same gravity as, say, a child who loves basketball attending a week of practices with the Raptors. The setting, the staffing, the resources, the approach—it’s all the real deal, within one of the country’s foremost academic institutions. No punches are pulled, with attention to chemical, civil, electrical and computing, geological, mechanical engineering, and others. It’s not for everyone, to be sure, but, again, for the right child, it’s as exceptional as it is unique. Day and overnight options allow for a wider range of engagement, but the immersive overnight programs are a particular draw. Participants interact with peers of a like mind and academic ability, as well as academics and professionals in the field, all which can be both transformational and inspiring.
Three Things: Connections: Queen’s Summer Engineering Academy (QSEA) Hear the three things that Our Kids’ editors see when they look at Connections: Queen’s Summer Engineering Academy (QSEA)
Transcript of our interview with Stephanie, Mother
What were you looking for when searching for camps?
My husband is an engineer. He went to Queens. We both went to Queens. He's always touted engineering, and all of our kids have been good in math and physics. When I saw it advertised I thought, that's the perfect camp to send my kid! Then he can get a taste for different disciplines and come out of it knowing what they wanted to do. So we signed up, and he went and loved it.
So then my two other sons ended up doing the same thing.
What would you highlight about QSEA's programming, teachers, or curriculum, and what can you tell us about that?
I don't really know anything about the teachers other than what I've heard from the kids. They really loved doing the projects. Our three boys all went through the camp. Two of the three didn't go to Queens, but the middle one is at Queens. He's in third-year engineering.
And he told us, “When I started my first year at Queens in engineering, I walked into the lab, and it was like some of our first-year labs, we did modified versions of what he did at camp two years earlier! He was familiar with the labs. They got a taste of the different labs at Queens, and he had seen a lot of it already, so we love that!
What do your children like best or find most exciting about QSEA?
They liked doing the labs and the projects. My one son did welding. And he says, to this day, “It was the most fun.” In another one, they were doing bridge building. Those projects were fun for them. I think they were modified versions of what they later did in first-year engineering. The welding part of it stood out, something that they would never have had experience with elsewhere. Now, none of them went into welding or that type of engineering, but they just [enjoyed] the different projects. The labs were pretty fun.
How and when did you know that QSEA was the right fit for your children?
I was at Queens. We all went to Queens. We had family there.
It looked like it covered what we wanted. We thought it would help them understand engineering better. As soon as I read about it, I knew it was a good fit, because when they talked about engineering, they wondered, “How would we know which discipline we like the best?”
Queens does have an advantage over other universities when [it comes to] university and engineering. One reason why my one son chose Queens is that they can do a general first year at Queens. That also helps them determine what discipline they want to be in. A lot of schools, especially in the US, don't allow you to do that. You have to decide before going in. So, given the fact that we live in California, and they were applying to US schools as well as Canadian schools, if they ended up at a school where they had to pick right out of the gate, I wanted them to have some exposure to engineering ahead of time.
Was there any change or noticeable personal growth you saw in your children after time at camp?
Coming out of it, they had a better sense of what engineering is and a better perspective of what discipline they might choose a year later when they were applying for university.
If you hadn't sent your children to this camp, what's the most important personal growth that they would've missed out on?
Well, I'm dealing with it now with my daughter who didn't get to go, right? She says, “I wish that I could have gone to the camp.” She's having to apply for engineering. She's more guessing at some things, because in some schools, you have to specify a discipline. At Queens, you don't.
So she doesn't have as much confidence about really wanting biotech, or whatever it is that she's putting down? She just hasn't had exposure to what engineering really is.
How can a parent support their child to get the most out of this camp?
Signing them up for one. [Laughs]
If you send them, the majority of people who do go there stay overnight. That willingness to be able to go and be away from home for two weeks (or however long the camps are now). The camp my boys were in was a two-week camp. The support is signing them up and letting them go.
How would you describe this camp to another parent?
If a child is interested in engineering or has an affinity for math and chemistry or physics, it's a really good means of getting them exposure to the various disciplines. Within engineering, they had even elements of entrepreneurship and things that are a bit above and beyond the engineering space.
The biggest selling point is having a cross reference of all the different disciplines and getting some exposure to that ahead of time, for that child who has to apply, within a year, to university.
What do your children say about the camp, either to you or to others?
They loved the camp.
I had three kids go. The first one went through, really enjoyed it, loved it. The other two just followed suit and also loved it. My fourth child, my daughter, looked forward to going and was very disappointed when COVID happened, so she didn't get to go.
But the older ones loved it. They came back talking about it and really enjoyed the projects and labs that they did, and just everything about it.
00:53 - What would you do differently if you had a chance?
01:02 - Do you keep in touch with the friends you made?
01:11 - What advice would you give to new campers?
Verified Reviews of Connections: Queen’s Summer Engineering Academy (QSEA)
(5)
Jess Boland, Parent
My daughter had a wonderful experience. She was excited to go every morning and had lots of exciting news to share at the end of the day. One of the things she noted was that many of the counsellors w...
Both of my kids had a great time and we are going back this summer (2025). If anything, I wish there were weeks offered as we could have potentially done multiple weeks.
Enthusiasm about attending...
More reviews of Connections: Queen’s Summer Engineering Academy (QSEA)
2018 Parent, Parent
Parent views about QSEA
"I wanted to congratulate you on the depth and breadth of your QSEA program. My child had a blast and was very
impressed by the diversity of activities, and is very excited to come back next year." - QSEA parent
2018 student, Camper
Information about Engineering Disciplines
"I developed a more accurate interpretation of each branch of engineering and have discovered a few that I did not previously know." - QSEA student
We get to expose students to what the Faculty of Engineering in Queen’s University has to offer.
We have access to some of the labs, the research facilities, and learning spaces on campus. Queen’s prides itself on these spaces, and by introducing younger students to them, we provide a unique learning experience.
What type of student is successful in this program?
There is a wide variety of students that are successful.
For our senior programs, most participants are in the upper years of high school and want to get a real glimpse of what Queen’s University, and the Faculty of Engineering, has to offer.
Younger students are early in their educational journey and want to learn more broadly about what the profession is. The program gives them a clearer, more informed understanding of the profession and what it might look like as a future path.
We make sure that there's a lot of hands-on, experiential learning. So students who enjoy working collaboratively, engaging with their peers, and learning by doing tend to get the most out of the program.
Is the schedule structured or is it more open?
There is an overarching theme that guides the learning throughout the day. Within that framework, there are dedicated blocks of learning time, as well as time for individual exploration.
The beauty of engineering is that it’s all about tackling complex, open-ended problems, and no two students will approach a challenge in exactly the same way.
While the day follows a clear structure and provides foundational guidance, there’s plenty of flexibility for students to think independently, explore creatively, and find their own solutions.
How do your staff deal with behavioral issues?
We haven't had to deal a lot with behavioral issues as the students are typically in Grade 6 and up. They tend to be more mature and are genuinely interested in learning about the engineering profession. Our full-time staff are all qualified teachers with classroom experience, and they bring a range of behaviour management strategies with them. If challenges do arise, our goal is to minimize disruption so that all students can enjoy a positive learning environment.
Staff regularly revisit management strategies and are prepared to address any issues that come up. In our programs, behavioural concerns tend to relate more to safety, specially in research labs or when using specialized equipment and materials. These settings come with higher stakes, so we emphasize the importance of health and safety from the outset.
By being transparent on the severity and seriousness of the environment and what’s expected, we’re often able to prevent misbehaviour before it starts.
What do participants value the most about their experience in the program?
The participants value the relationships they build during the program, both with their peers and the staff. They meet like-minded students from across the country, form meaningful connections, and often stay in touch well after the summer ends.
They also value the chance to experience university life. For many, especially those in the senior levels, it might be their first opportunity to visit a university campus and immerse themselves in that environment. Our residential option allows students to stay in residence for one or two weeks, offering a valuable preview of what university life might look like. This experience can play a meaningful role in helping students feel more confident and prepared for the transition from high school to post-secondary education.
What advice would you give to a new participant of the program?
Approach every experience with an open mind. Engineering is often misunderstood. It's very multidisciplinary in that it intersects with many different fields and professions, and we want students to see that breadth.
Before they come to the program, we ask all students to set their own learning goals — what do they hope to gain out of the program. At the end of the course, we get them to reflect back on whether they met those goals. This helps make each student’s experience informative and individualized.
Our program is designed to be fun. It's designed to be educational. It isn't necessarily designed to challenge students academically. Our goal is to provide exposure to the faculty and to the disciplines of engineering.
00:55 - What type of student is successful in this program?
02:06 - Is the schedule structured or is it more open?
02:49 - How do your staff deal with behavioural issues?
04:46 - What do participants value most about their experience in the program?
05:55 - What advice would you give to a new participant of the program?
Director's Message
As a professional engineer, a qualified high school Chemistry teacher, and the Manager of Connections Engineering Outreach over the past 6 years, I take pride in properly designing our workshops to include important aspects of the engineering profession. Also, with a Masters degree specializing in engineering education focusing on school students' perceptions of engineering, I am aware of the mis-perceptions that some students hold about the profession and the team works towards providing accurate information about the profession to correct these perceptions.
Staff and Counsellors
The Queens Summer Engineering Academy staff are unique due to their blend of expertise in engineering, science, and education, ensuring an engaging and supportive learning environment. Staff members are second-year or higher students in STEM fields, trained professionals in education and engineering. Campers remember their enthusiasm, mentorship, and ability to make STEM exciting. With a 1:8 ratio for younger students, staff retention is strong from year to year, fostering continuity. The gender ratio is diverse, promoting inclusivity in STEM.
More details about accommodations: In years past, All QSEA Senior and QSEA Intermediate students have stayed in one of the premium residence rooms which means they are single climate-controlled rooms with a shared bathroom with one other person. An example of the residence rooms can be found using the following link:
https://residences.housing.queensu.ca/our-buildings/building-descriptions/brant-house/
