With “MIT Fundamentos Electrónicos,” MechE Grad Student Brings Electronics Workshops to Students in Mexico
Working with MIT’s Global Teaching Labs (GTL), MechE Graduate Student Savannah Gordon SB ’24, developed a program for high school students in Mexico
The summer months and Independent Activities Period (IAP) are both prime time for MIT students to engage in learning and research outside of the regular academic year. Summer provides a longer period for intensive study, research, or internships, while IAP, a four-week period in January during which faculty and students are ‘freed from the rigors of regularly scheduled classes,’ is meant to be a time for exploration of a variety of academic and non-academic pursuits. Savannah Gordon SB ’24, now a graduate student in mechanical engineering, spent IAP 2025 in Querétaro, Mexico, hosting an electronics workshop.
“This project began the summer of 2024 when I reached out to MISTI Mexico staff proposing a curriculum consisting of soldering-based EE labs to be taught during the IAP 2025 term,” says Gordon. MIT’s Global Teaching Labs (GTL) program, run by MISTI, recruits top MIT students who want to actively participate in the Institute’s experiential approach and learn by teaching in sites around the world.
Gordon says the curriculum for her program, MIT Fundamentos Electrónicos (MITFE), was modified from and inspired by the Electronics First (Efirst) curriculum developed by MIT Professor Steven Leeb, the Emanuel E. Landsman (1958) Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Her original intent was to teach the course at the technical public school, Técnica 4, in Guadalajara, Mexico, where two of her uncles had attended school. Through conversations with her uncles, she learned that they felt there was a deficit in concept-based problem solving and theoretical immersion, and wanted to create something that would help provide students with that competence and confidence. Safety protocols prevented the program from operating in Guadalajara, but GTL staff connected her with another school, CONALEP, in Querétaro, Mexico and, ultimately, the program was held at Plantel Automotriz José Vasconselos.
The course relied on printed circuit boards (PCBs), which Gordon fabricated using an at-home desktop CNC mill following guidance and encouragement from MechE Research Scientist Nevan Hanumara and Abigail Fry ‘21, a MechE alumna who now works at Greentown Labs.
Over 170 students applied to take part in the workshop, with 85 ultimately chosen to take part in one of three weeklong workshops instructed by Gordon and Riley Contee ’25. The first week of workshops was for high school students in their fifth semester, the second week was for third semester students, and the final week welcomed first semester students. The teaching as learning approach GTL embodies was also extended to several participants.
“From the 29 students taught in the first week, four students were selected as Student Leaders to tach their younger counterparts in the final two weeks,” explains Gordon. These volunteers assisted with conducting verbal exams and debugging PCBs. “It was extremely heartwarming to see my Student Leaders grow into the role of mentor during the course of a week. The environment that manifested was one of sharing knowledge and a love for learning…this was most noticeable during the closing ceremony we had with all 85 students [at the conclusion of the program].”
As an undergraduate, Gordon studied mechanical engineering concentrating on robotics, she is now a graduate student in MechE conducting research in the Electromechanical Systems Group under Professor Leeb.
