Ignite Tech Academy
Apply →

Embedded
Software
Bootcamp.

Twelve weeks. Twelve real projects. Finish with a working AI personal assistant — with a camera, microphone, and wireless connection — built on hardware you wired and programmed yourself.

Apply to Cohort 01 → See curriculum
Apply by [TBD Application Deadline]
Cohort
01NOW ENROLLING
Duration
12 weeks~ 8–10 HRS / WK
Format
HybridVIDEOS + SATURDAY LAB
For
Grade 10+BASIC PROGRAMMING OK
Tuition
$2,995
02 /The weekly rhythm

Built for students with a life.

8–10 hours per week — most of it spent actually building, not watching videos. Designed to fit around school, sports, and real life, without cutting corners on what you learn.

A week in the program

1–2 h
Short, focused videos10–15 min each — watched on your time
2 h
Saturday live labTheory recap + hands-on building with George
5–6 h
Weekly projectWhere the real building happens
Total per week 8–10 hours
Saturday lab time
2 hours, liveTheory recap + hands-on time with the cohort. Recorded for anyone who has to miss.
Cohort size
TBDIntentionally small so George can know every student's project.
Hardware kit
TBD — likely includedESP32, sensors, LCD, mic, speaker, camera, components — confirm with team.
Prerequisites
Basic programmingIf you've used Python loops & functions, you're ready. Weeks 1–2 cover C from scratch.

8–10 hrs/week. Fits around school, sports, and real life.

Apply to Cohort 01 →
03 /12-Week curriculum

Every week, a real build.

Weeks 1–3 teach you to program in C and how computers actually execute code. Weeks 4–11 cover how hardware communicates: sensors, displays, audio, Bluetooth, WiFi, and cameras. Week 12 is your capstone — an AI personal assistant, built by you.

WK 01
C BasicsVariables, conditionals, loops, functions. Get fluent in the language you'll ship in.
VariablesData TypesIf / ElseLoopsFunctions
Weekly project
Calculator program
WK 02
Advanced CPointers, memory, structs, bit manipulation — the C that embedded actually uses.
PointersMemoryArrays & StringsStructsBit Shifting
Weekly project
Text-based game
WK 03
Computer Architecture & RTOSHow your C actually executes, and how to run multiple tasks at once — the foundation everything else is built on.
Assembly BasicsALU & RegistersCPU ExecutionSchedulingTasks & Queues
Weekly project
Explore ESP32 architecture · multi-task demo
WK 04
GPIO, Timers, Interrupts & PWMStart controlling real hardware — pins, timing, and what happens when something interrupts your code.
GPIOHardware TimersInterruptsPWMRegister Defs
Weekly project
Simon Says game · LEDs + buttons
WK 05
UART CommunicationSend data between devices over a serial wire — the simplest protocol that actually matters.
UART ProtocolSerial CommESP32 UART
Weekly project
Command-line interface for your device
WK 06
I2C Protocol & SensorsTalk to a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a gyroscope. I2C is everywhere — learn it once, use it forever.
I2C ProtocolSensor BasicsESP32 I2C
Weekly project
Weather station · temperature + humidity
WK 07
SPI Protocol & DisplayFaster than I2C, used by displays and high-throughput peripherals. Draw graphics, ship a game.
SPI ProtocolLCD TFTGraphics & Text
Weekly project
Retro game on LCD · Pong or Snake
WK 08
I2S AudioDigital audio: capture sound with a MEMS mic, play it back through an amp and speaker.
I2S ProtocolMEMS MicsAmplifiersSpeakers
Weekly project
Voice recorder
WK 09
Bluetooth Low EnergyConnect your device to your phone. Advertising, connection, GATT — the wireless protocol behind almost every wearable.
BLE BasicsAdvertisingPacketsGATT Server
Weekly project
Phone-controlled LED system
WK 10
WiFi & NetworkingGet your device on the internet, send sensor data, build a real IoT dashboard.
WiFiTCP / IPHTTPPackets
Weekly project
IoT dashboard · live sensor data
WK 11
Cameras & ImagingCapture images from a camera module, process the data, and stream or store it — key building blocks for your AI capstone.
Camera ModuleImage CaptureFrame BuffersStreamingJPEG Encoding
Weekly project
Live camera feed · capture & display images
WK 12
Capstone & Demo DayFive protocols, one device, your design. Build it, then present it to parents, peers, and friends.
I2S MicSpeakerCameraBLEUART
Demo day
Your capstone, presented live

12 weeks. 12 projects. One capstone built by you.

Apply to Cohort 01 →
04 /Your instructor

Working engineer. Two-time founder.
Former D1 athlete.

George builds AI hardware for a living — the kind inside the next generation of smart devices and robotics. He teaches the way he learned: by building things. Two startups, a D1 soccer career, and a track record of mentoring engineers on his own teams.

George Mansour, Lead Embedded Software Engineer at AON Devices and Ignite Tech Academy lead instructor
George Mansour
Cohort 01 · Lead Instructor
Lead Instructor · Cohort 01

George Mansour

Lead Embedded Software Engineer · AON Devices

Now   George leads embedded software at AON Devices — a fast-growing Southern California startup building ultra-low-power AI processors for voice, audio, and sensor recognition. Their silicon is the kind that goes inside the next generation of wearables and ambient devices. He works with tier-one IoT companies shipping that platform.

Founder, twice   Before AON, George founded a youth sports platform connecting players, coaches, clubs, and college recruiters with full team management, player highlight videos, and recruitment. He followed it with an ML-powered soccer training app that wrote custom workouts from match footage. Both crossed six-figure monthly revenue and 100k+ active users.

Background   B.S. Electrical Engineering from UC Irvine. Played D1 college soccer at UCI, then professionally in Belgium and Jordan. He teaches the way coaches taught him — by drilling fundamentals until they become reflex, then sending you into the game.

Now
Lead Embedded SWE · AON Devices
Field
Ultra-low-power AI silicon · IoT
Education
B.S. Electrical Engineering · UC Irvine
Built
2× founder · 100k+ MAU · 6-fig MRR
College sport
D1 Soccer · UC Irvine
Professional
Pro Soccer · Belgium & Jordan

Learn from an engineer who builds AI hardware for a living — not a TA, not a tutor.

Apply to Cohort 01 →
05 /Pricing & enrollment

One program. One price.

Everything you need for 12 weeks — every project, Demo Day, and full hardware kit. Cohort 01 is selective — applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

$2,995

Tuition is due only after you're accepted. Submitting an application costs nothing.

  • 12 weeks of instruction
  • Hardware kit shipped to you TBD
  • Saturday live labs
  • Private cohort Discord
  • Demo Day & certificate
Start application →
06 /FAQ

Common questions.

Still have questions? Email hello@ignitetech.academy — we'll answer within 24 hours.

Do I need to know how to code already?

Basic programming knowledge helps — if you've taken AP CSP, or played around with Python or JavaScript, you'll feel right at home. We don't expect any C or embedded experience. Weeks 1–2 get everyone fluent in C before we touch hardware.

What hardware do I need?

TBD — confirm with George   Our plan is to ship every student a kit with the ESP32 dev board, sensors, an LCD, an I2S mic, an amplifier and speaker, a camera module, and a bag of components — included in tuition. You bring a laptop (Mac, Windows, or Linux) and a USB-C cable.

What's the cohort schedule?

TBD — cohort dates to be confirmed   Saturday labs run live for 2 hours; videos and project time happen async during the week. Once we lock the exact dates we'll publish them here. To be the first to know, apply now — we email the schedule to applicants first.

What happens on Demo Day?

Demo Day is the closing Saturday of the cohort. You present your capstone device — live — to parents, peers, friends, and a small invited group of industry engineers. Every student gets a 5–8 minute slot to demo what they built and explain how it works. You walk out with a certificate, photos and video of your demo, and (if you want) a video write-up for your portfolio site.

What if my schedule conflicts with Saturday lab?

Every lab is recorded and posted within 24 hours. If you have to miss one (away game, family event, ACT — we get it) you watch the recording, then book a 15-minute check-in with George that week to catch up. The goal is no student left behind, ever.

Will this help with college apps?

Yes — but not in a vague "looks good on a resume" way. You'll finish with 11 portfolio-grade projects, a capstone device, photos, video, and a write-up of how each one works. Engineering admissions officers and internship recruiters want to see what you've built — we design the entire program around making that legible.

How does the refund policy work?

Full refund if you cancel before Week 2 starts. After Week 2, pro-rated refund for the remaining unused weeks. Hardware kits returned in working condition are fully refunded; damaged or missing parts are billed at cost. We'll send you the kit before Week 1 starts so you have time to confirm it works.

Still have questions? Email us at hello@ignitetech.academy — we'll respond within 24 hours.

Apply to Cohort 01 →

Skip the theory.
Ship the project.

Cohort 01 · Now enrolling · Apply by [TBD]
Apply to Cohort 01 →