The Class of 2029 Arrives: Welcome Week, CONNECT, and Innovator's Challenge

Cars packed to the roof. Monitors under one arm, mechanical keyboards under the other. University of Advancing Technology's (UAT) campus filled up fast for Fall 2026 Welcome Week, and the energy was unmistakable. The Class of 2029 has arrived, ready to write the opening chapter of their technology-driven journey.

CONNECT: two days, zero slow starts

Then came CONNECT, Our University's immersive orientation experience to kick off our fall semester. Students first break out into randomized mentor-led teams to get acquainted with UAT campus life. They moved through two full days of sessions that ran from the Community Theater to the Manufacturing and Innovation Lab to the ESports Arena, and almost none of it involved sitting still.

Day one opened with the Innovator's Challenge (previously known as the Provost Challenge) introduction in the Theater, then EXL group intros, where students met the cross-disciplinary teammates they'd be building with all week. From there the day split into rotations:

• CTF Scavenger Hunt — capture the flag, campus edition. New students learned the building by hunting through it.
• Smash Theory — hands-on hardware in the Manufacturing and Innovation Lab.
• Synchronic Learning — how UAT's classroom model actually works, on-campus and online.
• Crossing Barriers, Building Community — in the Movement Studio, because community isn't built sitting in rows.
• Respect, Responsibility & Tech — a guide to student life for people living inside the tech.
• ESports —the Arena, self-explanatory.

Day two picked up the pace: AI Image Mashup, Student Success with the people who keep students on track, Career.exe for early thinking about the path after the degree, more ESports, and a full hour to Meet the Faculty in the Theater. Both days carved out dedicated Innovator's Challenge work time — because the clock was already running on their competition. 

Meet the Faculty: Saying Hello to Your Innovation Partners

That Community Theater hour was the turn. Students met the instructors who blend cutting-edge research with real-world technology challenges, and what started as introductions became something else. The room came alive. Students grew more confident, asking sharper questions and digging in with their Subject Matter Experts across a wide range of topics, the beginning of the mentored, 15:1 relationships that define a UAT degree.

The Innovator's Challenge: Portfolio Projects From Day One

In true UAT fashion, the Innovator's Challenge, hosted by UAT's VP of Student Affairs, Brandi Beals kicked everything into high gear. Cross-disciplinary EXL groups, formed on the first morning of CONNECT, got one week to design and deliver a minimum viable prototype that's innovative, functional, and new.

The catch? Every build had to hit three marks:

• Wrath the Wyvern. Our mascot had to show up somewhere in the project, and how was entirely up to the team (except as weapons including crossbows or slingshots — 👀 IYKYK).
• Technology older than you are. Teams had to work in at least one piece of tech that predates the students building with it. Cassette decks, CRTs, dot matrix, dial tones — if it shipped before they did, it counted.
• Do something for the community. The prototype had to help somebody. Campus, Tempe, or the wider world.

Three constraints, one week, and teammates they'd known for about forty-five minutes. Teams dove straight into hacking sessions, design sprints, and rapid prototyping, all before official classes began.

Day One: Innovators in Action

By the time the first lectures started today, these teams had already bonded, brainstormed, and began building something innovative, proving that at UAT, innovation doesn’t wait for Day One. It ignites before arrival.

From the moment you stepped on campus, you proved it: you’re not just students, you’re creators.

What's next on campus

The semester doesn't slow down from here. Two dates to put on the calendar:

• Tech Respect Summit — Thursday, October 22. Our flagship in-person conference bringing industry and academia into the same room on campus.
• Discovery Expo — Saturday, November 7. Doors open at 10 AM. If you're deciding where to build your future, this is the day to walk the labs, meet the faculty, and see what a UAT degree actually looks like.

From the moment you stepped on campus, you proved it: you're not just students, you're creators.

Class of 2029, this is only the beginning. The future you build starts now, and we can't wait to see what you ship.

Ready to dive into a world of limitless innovation? Request more information or apply today.