Renaissance JAX

As the exclusive Program Delivery Partner in Northeast Florida, the mission of Renaissance Jax (RJAX) is to build and retain talented, creative young people in Northeast Florida through opportunities involving FIRST Robotics, STEM education, and mentor-driven experiences. Providing the FIRST progression of programs allows RJAX to instill and invest in students as young as six years old, fostering interest in STEM and building holistic skills as they transition from LEGO to building 18-inch robots, learn Java programming, and more.

RJAX’s corporate partners bolster the FIRST curriculum and provide the opportunity to mentor top talent and bring a variety of career options to students’ attention. RJAX previously partnered with JEA to host a summer camp for participating Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) high school students. They received hands-on experience by learning to design, build and program a robot. They delved into the process of entrepreneurship with JAXChamber and toured JEA locations to hear from employees about various career pathways. Every student expressed interest in a career at JEA at the conclusion of their five-week experience.

Renaissance Jax regularly tasks students with a hard problem that needs solving. The COVID-19 pandemic caused teams’ meeting capabilities to drastically change, resulting in major questions regarding how to share robotics supplies to produce robots. Students learned that if they could not produce a physical robot, they could build a virtual one. Alyssa Olsen and Ishika Doma from J. Allen Axson Elementary School not only taught themselves how to use two digital programs, but they also presented to coaches and fellow students across 28 counties in Northeast and Central Florida. “I learned how useful both LEGO Digital Designer and BrickLink can be for teams to collaborate online to create a digital robot,” Ishika said of the experience. Alyssa learned about architecture with LEGO, saying it was “the opportunity of a lifetime to teach a real class in front of real people at the age of ten.” Both Alyssa and Ishika then began exploring programs such as Fusion360, participating in challenges alongside high school robotics students.

While FIRST teams all around the world helped produce 3D printed face shields to address the PPE shortage early in the pandemic, RJAX students also assisted in the effort to solve UF Health’s PPE shortage. Ultimately, RJAX included students in their community effort to provide face shields that were safe to reuse and easily reproduce.

Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, RJAX continues to serve nearly 3,000 students across Northeast and Central Florida. New partnerships with JTA and Amazon through DCPS and the Jacksonville Icemen are just some exciting developments as they strive to engage and invest in the future workforce.