Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493016
REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2023 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE I I-CONNECT007 109 Students got hands-on experience with soldering diodes and resistors onto PCBs. There was a lot of troubleshooting involved, whether it was fixing blobby soldering, back- ward LEDs, or simply getting the solder to work. Every student, with the support of adults and volunteers, was able to take home a working pin. A lot of students even got to make multiple ones; I saw a few of the stu- dents with pin lights on their shoes, hats, and even their IPC bags. Next, the group went down to the show floor to talk to different companies about their work, including how they design, manufac- ture, or fabricate PCBs. One of the compa- nies, Altium, explained how PCBs work and how companies can design PCBs through software before manufacturing them later on. After their interactive presentation, Altium sent the students off in groups to tables, where we took apart RC cars to look at the PCBs inside them. At noon, we returned upstairs for a big lunch. Students then had the opportunity to ask a panel of engineers some questions about their experiences and careers, and any advice they had for aspiring engineers. On the first day, someone asked panelists how difficult their field was, and one panelist responded that they almost quit their engineering job about three times. Hearing how even adults struggle every now and then was both inter- esting and reassuring for me. Overall, I thought the STEM event was both informative and enjoyable. The event taught everyone a lot about soldering boards, the design process of PCB boards, and the manu- facturing and fabrication process of PCBs. Many of the students I interviewed said that now having seen and experienced the indus- try, they planned to pursue a career in engi- neering. Whether they had originally intended to go into engineering or whether they were just curious, the IPC APEX EXPO STEM event sparked something in every one of us. S&T Cardin Nguyen is a high school student who worked with the I-Connect007 team as an embedded reporter to cover IPC APEX EXPO 2023.