BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) — Ignite Tech Impact hosted the North Berkeley Innovation Summit in Partnership with Google Data Center and The Watson Institute, bringing the community together to learn, connect and get inspired by technology.
“I like to deal with technology myself, so it feels good to educate other people,” Goose Creek High School student Keenen Swinton said.
The summit gave an immersive experience to empower students and adults in more rural communities through high-tech demonstrations and hands-on learning.
“You want to be the person that’s using it and knows how to use it and knows what to do with it rather than the one that’s being replaced by it,” North Berkeley Innovation Summit speaker Omar Shaheed said.
This also showcased future opportunities in tech, including college, career and leadership experiences.
“I didn’t know what engineering was until I got to high school, really. So, like now for students here, maybe in middle school or younger for them to learn and get a better start, to me would be because if I knew earlier, I probably would have gotten in a better position than I am now,” Shaheed said.
There were interactive stations and workshops featuring artificial intelligence, mechatronics, financial literacy and the aircraft company, Boeing, had a booth to teach and engage with the community.
“There’s really no way to escape it. You’re going to have to use it at some point, so you might as well learn how to use it for good instead of bad,” Swinton said.
The summit showed how local collaboration can positively impact rural communities in an effort to drive access and opportunities within the world of technology.
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