Qualcomm® Thinkabit Lab™ FAQs

The Qualcomm® Thinkabit Lab™ provides students with a unique STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) experience and exposure to careers they may not know exist. It also provides an opportunity for educators to learn best practices for engaging students in STEM.  Students engage in hands-on engineering activities that involve problem-solving, creativity and collaboration. The Thinkabit Lab Signature Experience is designed to inspire a new generation of innovators and inventors who will build on the foundation of 5G to invent the unimagined.  To learn more, download the Thinkabit Lab Overview.

We’re excited about your interest to create a Thinkabit Lab experience for your students. We would love to talk with you and learn more about your organization, interests and goals. Please email ContactThinkabitLab@qualcomm.com.

Thinkabit Lab is committed to building collaborations with public- and private-sector organizations throughout San Diego.

Every summer since 2014, we have engaged with others to bring engaging invention-based projects to more than 500 middle school boys and girls. Our key collaborators include the Institute of International Education, American Association of University Women, Thinkabit Lab National Sites, and local San Diego Districts.

Our expansion began in 2015 and since then, we have launched 4 new cornerstone sites, including:

• Qualcomm® Thinkabit Lab™ at Virginia Tech, Northern Virginia Center
• Qualcomm® Thinkabit Lab™ at Innovation Station in collaboration with Chula Vista Public Library & Chula Vista Elementary School District
• Qualcomm® Thinkabit Lab™ at University of Michigan, Michigan Engineering Zone, Detroit
• Future Ready Lab, A Qualcomm® Thinkabit Lab™ at Porterville Unified School District

We have an additional 12 sites at schools and districts across the nation including California, Virginia, North Carolina, and Louisiana.

To date, our Thinkabit Lab sites have inspired over 50,0000 youth to be the inventors of the future.

Our overarching goal for Thinkabit Lab is to inspire the next generation of inventors by:

1. Demystifying engineering and the possibilities of being an inventor;
2. Guiding students through Qualcomm® World of Work activities where they can unlock their unique talents and see the careers that are open to them.
3. Engaging students from all backgrounds to experience a hands-on, interactive activities where they gain confidence in STEM career may be in their future, and an understanding that STEM concepts are found in many careers.

We’re glad you asked! We've posted engineering activities that we use with students in our Learning Center. Click here for hands-on engineering activities involving LEDs and Servos and use the activities to create projects of your own!

Between 2014 and 2018, the Thinkabit Lab at our San Diego headquarters has:

• Inspired more than 14,000 local students to be inventors
• Produced 5,000 inventions created by students
• Hosted students from 107 schools across the county
• Collaborated with 20 districts/organizations to expand the Thinkabit Lab Program.

As a company of inventors and technologists, we care deeply about STEM. It is part of who we are and the foundation for everything we do. We are committed to contributing to a successful, robust, diverse and expanding pool of talent in STEM fields. Therefore, we invest in sustainable, STEM programs that reach, inspire and engage students of all ages, at all levels and from all backgrounds. We expose students to STEM concepts and careers that are essential to tomorrow’s workforce, not only at Qualcomm, but in every aspect of building the wireless, Internet of Things and 5G ecosystems.

We no longer have the capacity to host students on-site at our Qualcomm offices in San Diego. We do, however, have a Thinkabit Lab Ambassador Program and can have a Qualcomm employee come to your site or chat via Skype for a speakership. To request a Qualcomm employee for a speakership or event, please use this link to complete a survey with details of the event.

To stay connected to the Thinkabit Lab team, please sign up to receive updates.

We encourage you to follow us on social media @qualcommforgood and #thinkabitlab