Local 12: Oak Hills students learn engineering skills

High school students get college engineering credit through UC program

Local 12 highlighted an engineering program with ties to the University of Cincinnati that included a cardboard boat race for students to test their skills.

Oak Hills High School students spent weeks building cardboard boats that had to survive a paddle across an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

The students made the paper and duct tape boats in an exploratory engineering class. Oak Hills also offers two engineering design classes that students can take in cooperation with UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science that provides college credit.

This year 281 students from 10 area high schools are enrolled in UC's College Credit Plus program.

“Oak Hills has been one of our strongest partners in providing engineering courses to regional high school students,” said Eugene Rutz, assistant dean of UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science. “Through this partnership, hundreds of students have become excited about engineering careers. We are happy to welcome many of these Oak Hills students to UC each year.”

Read the Local 12 story.

Featured image at top: Oak Hills High School Students compete in a cardboard boat regatta as part of an engineering class. Photo/Local 12

Related Stories

1

How can Cincinnati provide more affordable housing? This new lab aims to find out

October 16, 2026

The University of Cincinnati Real Estate Center helped launch a new regional research and development initiative designed to identify, test and scale solutions to the region’s housing challenges called the Housing Innovation Lab. The project is built around a simple idea: What if communities approached housing challenges the way leading companies approach innovation?

2

Environmental engineer researching methods to monitor river quality

October 16, 2026

Pradeep Ramtel has been conducting research on river water since he was an undergraduate student in Nepal. He is currently a PhD student at the University of Cincinnati and is studying under Associate Professor Dongmei Feng. His research uses collected data and machine learning to better assess risks to river water quality and prepare for problems before they arise. Recently, he was named Graduate Student Engineer of the Month by UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science.