Sixteen high school students. Two days. One mission: Build and race a bionic fish.
Last week, Fullerton College proudly hosted the 2025 Bionics Academy, a high-impact summer program in partnership with ICON and Vital Link. This two-day experience introduced students from local high schools to the exciting worlds of engineering, robotics, and design thinking—all while giving them a hands-on taste of college life and career discovery.
The event featured interactive sessions, including:
- A personality assessment using the Myers-Briggs framework, helping students better understand themselves and their team dynamics
- A deep dive into bionics and bio-inspired engineering
- Design, construction, and programming of robotic fish powered by servo motors and guided by student ingenuity
- A friendly Bionic Shark Competition, where student-built fish raced across a mini pool in timed heats
In addition to the competition, students gained exposure to college-level topics like microcontroller programming, robotics assembly, and career pathways in engineering and manufacturing. They also toured Fullerton College’s campus, including the CyberLab and Library, and heard from an industry speaker about real-world opportunities in high-tech fields.
“Programs like the Bionics Academy are more than just summer fun—they’re launching pads for future engineers, designers, and makers,” said Professor Gary Graves, who helped facilitate and teach at the event. “These students walked away with real experience in problem solving, collaboration, and self-discovery.”
The Bionics Academy is part of a larger effort by ICON to bring over 90 students annually to three partner campuses: Fullerton College, Santa Ana College, and Santiago Canyon College. The initiative is designed to introduce high schoolers to apprenticeship pathways, community college programs like MAP2, and direct connections to local employers.