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Robotics & AI STEM · Utah
Kambi wants to design aircraft.
Refugee student Kambi discovered a passion for engineering after building his first robot, and now he dreams of designing aircraft.
2026 Impact Brief
Where we serve · Utah
Meet the next generation.
They arrived from all over the world. Now they're coding, building robots and dreaming big, right here in Utah.
Live from our robotics classes for refugee youth in Utah
Their stories
Small hands. Big dreams.
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Utah Valley Refugees · Provo
"Happy Birthday," in code.
Our students surprised their teacher by coding a Happy Birthday song on Micro:bits from scratch, and it played.
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Hartland Partnership Center · Salt Lake City
The Hartland 15.
For a year, 15 refugee youth mastered block coding with VEXcode VR and brought classroom robots to life.
Next: competition and a showcase at our 2027 STEAM Fair.
Help the next chapter
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Graduation day
Certificates in hand.
Our Robotics Bootcamp graduates left with stronger problem-solving, teamwork, coding and engineering design skills.
Watch them build
This is what Tuesday looks like.
Free Robotics & AI classes for ages 8–14, Tuesdays 3–4 PM, at the Hartland Partnership Center.
Watch the summer campIn their hands · VEX GO
Build and Code a Robot in Minutes
Meet VEX GO, the hands-on construction system our students build and code with every week. In our free Tuesday after-school classes at the Hartland Partnership Center in Salt Lake City and with Utah Valley Refugees in Provo, refugee and immigrant youth ages 8 to 14 learn STEM fundamentals by doing, and start to experience coding and engineering as something fun, positive and theirs.
Approachable
No experience and no tools needed. The pieces snap together, so every student can build a working robot in their very first class and join in from day one.
Creative
Working side by side, students dream up a design, test it, and rebuild it together, learning to create and cooperate through every wobble and breakthrough.
Inspiring
The moment a robot they built and coded rolls across the table, something shifts. Students start imagining what else they can make, in engineering and far beyond it.
65,000+
refugees living in Utah
30+
countries of origin
200
refugee and immigrant youth in our programs: our goal by the end of 2027
10
instructors at 2 community centers
The problem · Utah
Talent everywhere. Opportunity not yet.
Utah's refugee families come from Afghanistan, Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Ukraine and many other countries. Their kids bring big talent, but language barriers, interrupted schooling and the digital gap hold many back.
Learning a new language
Many students learn English while keeping up with every other subject.
Interrupted schooling
Some spent years in refugee camps with little school, then were placed in a grade by age.
The digital gap
Often one phone or computer is shared by a whole family.
Our answer
- Free Robotics & AI classes for ages 8–14
- Mentors who show up every week
- Laptops through our Laptop & Tech Drive
- Financial literacy and life skills
In 2025, a pause in federal refugee admissions put new pressure on Utah's community organizations.
Our Utah partnership
Four partners. One classroom for every kid.
Program sponsor
Utah STEM Action Center
The State of Utah's STEM Action Center sponsors our free Robotics & AI Bootcamp, helping more refugee and immigrant youth get hands-on with robotics, coding and AI.
Visit the STEM Action Center
Program partner
Bountiful STEM Educational Foundation
Provides the curriculum, robotics resources and 20 laptops. Together we've taught 50+ robotics classes to more than 150 students.
Robotics program partner (PDF)
Salt Lake City · West side
Hartland Partnership Center
A University of Utah community center run by University Neighborhood Partners, where more than 75% of participants aren't native English speakers. Our classes meet here every Tuesday.
Sign up for Hartland classes
Provo · Utah County
Utah Valley Refugees
Founded in 2016 and led by former refugees, it helps families with housing, jobs, health and English. Together we've hosted free summer AI, robotics and coding camps.
About the programOur work in Utah
Free programs, real skills.
Free STEAME classes for elementary through high school students from refugee and low-income families in Salt Lake, West Valley, Taylorsville, Kearns, Magna and Provo.
Robotics, AI & coding
With Bountiful STEM, for students from refugee centers and Title 1 schools.
EducationIT & career pathways
A free 12-week IT Essentials course, Cisco certificate prep, résumé help and mentoring for young adults 18+.
Economic OpportunityChangemakers abroad
50+ Utah changemakers have served in Ghana and Kenya.
Community projects in Utah
Neighbors helping neighbors.
DanceDance 4 a CauseDance classes by donation. 2,000 students and 100 refugee families served since 2021.Explore dance
LearningRobotics & AI classesFree classes for ages 8–14, Tuesdays at Hartland.See the program
ServiceSunnyside Park cleanupIn September 2026, our changemakers joined the Clean Up America Tour.Volunteer with us
GivingSanta's Shoebox Holiday Giving ProjectFirst weekend of December: holiday gifts and school supplies for refugee families.RSVP
Coming soonPaint 4 a CauseCommunity art nights in Utah that will raise support for new Murals of Hope.Get notified
Coming soonToy crafting with Tiny Tim'sVolunteers and kids build wooden toys with Tiny Tim's Foundation for Kids.Join the waitlist
Be a neighbor.
Mentor on Tuesdays (no experience needed), help fund the $3,000 in robotics kits we need, donate a laptop, or sponsor Utah's 2026 program.
Sources: Utah Department of Workforce Services (June 2024); Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, University of Utah; University Neighborhood Partners; Utah Valley Refugees; KUER (February 2025); Dreamers Wish Foundation program records and 2026 Impact Brief.