Two half day workshops were held recently in Alice Springs to train participants on how to build, program and encourage educational play with LEGO Mindstorms EV3, as part of RoboCup Junior.
In a collaboration between the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade (DITT), RoboCup Junior Australia, Inspired NT, Charles Darwin University and the Alice Springs Public Library, participants included teachers, library staff and robotics enthusiasts. Using LEGO educational robots the participants built the bots and programmed them to compete in a rescue maze and soccer challenge.
For DITT, the aim of these workshops is to train teachers on how to use these robotics to engage students in innovation and inspire an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics).
“Robotics is one of the key industry technologies that will define the future of employment and business in the near future. It is now urgent that we equip our next generation of STEM enabled, entrepreneurial, and innovative Territorians with the skills to master - and ultimately commercialise - innovation in this technology. The fact that Centralian school kids have an opportunity to participate in RoboCup is a fantastic outcome for all involved, with a special thanks to the volunteers who are making this happen.”
- Martin Redhead, Director Business Innovation (DITT)
Participants were keen to take the program forward and work with schools to get a RoboCup Junior tournament happening for Alice Springs and the Northern Territory. The Territory Government is committed to building a pipeline of STEM enabled entrepreneurial innovators, and encourages young Territorians, teachers and parents to be involved either through entering the competition or volunteering for the committee. If you would like to be part of this committee email to innovation@nt.gov.au
RoboCup Junior is a national project-oriented educational initiative that supports local, regional and international robotic events for young students.
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