Electric vehicles, the outcome of the CCNY STEM partnership, on display. Photo credit: Disney/Christopher Willard.
Last fall, The City College of New York’s STEM Institute partnered with Lectec, an innovative STEM education company founded by engineers who want to change how students experience STEM.
Luke St. Amand, co-founder of Lectec, taught at the CCNY STEM Institute in the fall, leading students through a hands-on engineering and entrepreneurship curriculum where they built electric vehicles, learned about manufacturing, and explored real-world applications of STEM.
Now, Lectec is set to appear on ABC network’s Shark Tank, 8 p.m. on Feb. 7, to showcase the same cutting-edge educational tools used in the classroom. Through this program, students didn’t just learn theory - they designed, prototyped, and built working electric vehicles, gaining skills that go far beyond a traditional classroom setting.
The STEM Institute has long been dedicated to providing students with experiential learning that prepares them for high-demand careers. With Lectec, students had the chance to engage with real-world problem-solving in a hands-on, interactive way.
The transformation was remarkable. Students who began the semester unsure were soon building, testing, and riding their own electric vehicles, developing both confidence and a deeper passion for STEM along the way.
This collaboration is just the beginning, as CCNY and Lectec explore new ways to expand STEM workshops, hackathons, and real-world engineering experiences for students. With Shark Tank now putting a national spotlight on Lectec, CCNY students can see firsthand how innovation in the classroom can turn into industry-changing ideas.
About Lectec
Lectec was founded on the idea that students learn best by doing. The company creates DIY electric vehicle kits that let students build and ride their own personal electric transportation, integrating STEM concepts in a hands-on, real-world way. Inspired by a garage project and a young nephew’s curiosity, Lectec has grown into a startup that’s capturing the attention of educators, students, and now—the Sharks. For more information, please contact Luke St. Amand at:
team@lectec.com
, or visit https://lectec.com.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Jay Mwamba
p: 917.892.0374
e:
jmwamba@ccny.cuny.edu