Meet Our Alumni

Class of 2017

Niki, Bailee, Erika, Dayanara, Braelynn, Fatima, Alejandra, Rabiya

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Class of 2018

Izzy, Hannah, Elizabeth, Isabel, Isabella, Chloe, Emma, Noelle

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Class of 2019

Giselle, Monique, Lorena, Karen , Allison, Layla, Aliyah, Davina, Kaylee

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Class of 2021--First Time Remote!

Aritra, Julianne, Eshani, Nifemi, Anya

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The Team

We love tech and sharing it with others


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Iris Khaund (they/them)
Teacher

I am Iris. I am a founder and teacher at Inventors University. I have taught Python for the last five years. I go to Ygnacio Valley High School, and I am taking a gap year after graduating in June 2023 and traveling to places like Ghana, Japan, and Spain. Inventors University is what we called our lessons when I was younger and it was just our family, so now I know how to use Python in interesting and fun ways. I learned a lot from my dad, and I want my students to learn a lot from me.

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Robyn Khaund (she/her)
Teacher

I’m Robyn. I teach Scratch and Javascript/HTML at Inventors University this year. I am fifteen years old and in 10th grade at Northgate High School. I like programming and have used Scratch in a few accounts since I was six. I learned JavaScript in third grade, and 3D printing in fourth grade. I immediately started making my own new creations after we got our own 3D printer. I hope that my students will become engineers and programmers in the future because of Inventors University.

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Sandy Khaund (he/him)
Parent

I'm Sandy. The two things I love more than anything else is my family and tech and Inventors University has been my way of combining the two. But when talking to my kids about ways to make the world a better place, we realized we couldn't limit IU to family. And that's why we are sharing our idea with the world. I helped start things, but Iris and Robyn have taken it over and made it what it has become and I couldn't be prouder.

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Cherise Khaund (she/her)
Parent

I'm Cherise. As mom and as a former engineer, I love that Iris and Robyn are teaching coding and mentoring girls to become future teachers as well. My favorite part is when students proudly share their own creations, or when their eyes light up in "aha" moments. My role with Inventors University is the connector - to teachers, schools, librarians, parents and students.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What Do We Do And Why?

What is Inventors University?

When Sandy first taught Iris how to program an Arduino back in the 2nd grade, Iris anointed our sessions as "Inventors University". Inspired by their incessant reading of Harry Potter, they imagined our sessions as classes at Hogwarts and me as Dumbledore. Iris even wore her Gryffindor robe to some of our programming sessions. It became our special thing and a new way to bond while they could learn and I didn’t feel like we were pushing technology on her.

When is Inventors University?

We originally ran 10-week programs on Saturday mornings that went from January to March, but in 2021, we moved on to a virtual summer camp model. For 2022, we hoped for a winter return, but Omicron convinced us to pull back. Now, we think things are safer and we may be able to do an in-person camp, but are trying to be open based on interest, so let us know your preference, if you have one.

Why are the kids teaching the classes? Shouldn't the adults do it?

​Development doesn't have to be a lonely. It doesn't have to be an adult sage on the stage, lecturing while a bunch people take notes and follow some strict set of steps that involve no creativity. Instead, it can be peers teaching other peers, encouraging creativity and going on your own. The greatest thing about a computer is that it is an amorphous tool that can be anything you want it to be. It can be a book, a fountain of information, an art canvas, or the ultimate Swiss Army Knife. You just have to know how to use it. Robyn’s “Birdminton” game should be more inspiring to a kid than Steve Jobs’ iPhone because a kid sees something that was achievable by someone just like her. Before any kid builds the iPhone, they need to build their Birdminton. That’s the power of peer learning.

Are you really giving every girl a computer? Why?

Sandy's life changed when his dad got him a computer. They didn't have a lot of money and it stretched their budget in ways that he would have preferred to avoid, but Sandy's father knew he needed to feed that desire. Sandy's life and livelihood can be traced to his family's sufficient funds and the willingness of his father to prioritize that computer over the vacations they didn't take and the cars they never bought. Many kids don't have that luxury. But it's 2016. A pocket-size fully functional Linux computer costs $35, $70 with all the extras (cords, keyboard/mice, etc). Sure they need to learn a few extra things about it, but isn't that the fun part? Owning your own computer and being able to do special tricks with it? Well that was the case for Iris and Robyn and we believe that being the case for a lot of girls out there who don't get those opportunities.

Why are you doing Inventors University?

We often talked about extending our university to people outside our family, but coordinating schedules and just making the time got to be too difficult and we just kept it as our private fun club. And then the election happened. Instead of creating our club for our friends, could we find a deserving group of girls who otherwise couldn't get the opportunity to do something like this? Iris and Robyn attend schools that are flush with cool gadgets, qualified teachers, and encouragement to get into tech. But for a lot of kids out there, they might get their "Hour of Code", but that's about it. With all due respect (and I love the concept), an hour is only a tease and spending that hour following a recipe of instructions doesn't validate the act of coding as a means of creativity. It barely scratches the surface. Meanwhile, they might see computers in the lab every now and then, but they could never imagine having a computer of their own. That's a realistic problem for a lot of kids today. These were the kids Cherise had in mind when she ran for school board, not our kids. What if we extended our club to them? What if we provide them the gifts that we take for granted--ownership of technology, encouragement to learn, and freedom to create?

No, seriously. What's in it for you?

As parents, we want our kids to learn about others who are not as fortunate as them and empathize, not sympathize. We want them to think of their lives as a life of service to those who need their help, even if they need to extend outside their chosen profession. We want them to adopt leadership roles, overcome their shyness, and gain confidence. We want them to know that they can be the change they wish to see in the world. We want them to learn tech and you learn best by teaching, so they will build their tech skills. We want them to think entrepreneurially and opportunistically, which is why 80% of the design of this idea is theirs. And most of all, like the motto of the school, we want them to listen to the words of Hillary Clinton's concession speech: "Never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams". That quote, along with the Inventors University logo (designed by Iris), is posted on each of their bedroom doors. We don’t take those words lightly. In fact, we talk about those words every day and they keep us doing what we're doing.

What if I want my daughter or nonbinary child to go to Inventors University?

In 2021, we did it over the summer where the Zoom fatigue will be lighter. We're doing each session daily, one week at a time, as opposed to weekly stretched out over months. And for kids that want multiple sessions, we're alternating weeks to minimize Zoom fatigue. We're looking to expand our curriculum options based on demand (HTML & Javascript!). Because we are virtual, there are no limits to where the students are. So it doesn't make a difference which school you attend or even whether you are in California. We just want girls who are excited to learn about programming. And we are targeting those who just completed 4th or 5th grade, though we are willing to make exceptions. NOTE: the lessons are much stronger in person, so we're looking to go back to in-person lessons, depending on interest. So sign up if you are interested!


Want to learn more?

Send us a mail at info@inventorsu.com.

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