General News
26 November, 2024
EB expands horizons with robotics
While many attended Energy Breakthrough (EB) to catch a glimpse of the gripping racing action around Lake Victoria, a nail-biting competition was also held off-track at the revamped robotics program.
Since 2022, the competition has tested student’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills through a series of coding missions.
In a bid to make the program even more exciting, EB organisers invited STEM It Up Sports to bring the Sphero Global Challenge to Australia for the first time.
Twenty-one teams of five participated in the first of nine state championships held worldwide for the chance to compete in the world championships starting next April.
The new partnership between EB and the global challenge has made the robotics program more enthralling, according to EB robotics coordinator Rob Higgins.
“We were talking about bringing robotics into EB for years and I just got to the point of saying ‘let’s do it’,” he said.
“The last two years were me making up challenges in my garage having no idea that something like this existed.
“Both Nigel Preston (Country Education Partnership education team leader) and I found this Sphero Global Challenge while doing searches, we contacted STEM It Up Sports and they said ‘come on board’.”
Mr Higgins said the competition provides an interactive and affordable platform for students to develop increasingly integral skills.
“Coding is the future, we can’t do anything now without a code sitting behind somewhere whether it’s your car, fridge or whatever else,” he said.
“Each team needs two Sphero robots to enter [which cost] around $400 each and multiple teams can use the same two Sphero’s so it’s rather cheap and the software is a free app.
“The resources that come with it help the kids to learn but it’s also a great chance for them to problem solve.”
Members of STEM It Up Sports flew over from the United States to oversee the championships including STEM It Up Sports CEO Dr Tonjia Grimble.
“My objective in bringing this to Australia is to expose more youth to computer science fundamentals,” Dr Grimble said.
“A lot of our technology is going to be about coding so we need this generation to be engaged with it.
“The competition is designed to be fun, it’s designed to be not expensive for schools to participate in and we want to create an interest for STEM.
“My favourite part is the team that shows up and they have a plan, they don’t execute it right the first go-round, but they problem-solve in the moment and get it done.
“My other thing is when a team may not do well at all but they rally around each other and say ‘we will get it next time’.
“I love seeing those moments because that’s what it’s all about, it’s about getting them to help each other through the process.”
Based on the positive outcomes of this year’s competition, organisers have already set their sights on 2025 with the early goal of having “around 60 teams here next year”.
Mr Higgins said organisers weren’t the only ones to herald the new format a success.
“I’ve had lots of enthusiasm from schools saying they’ll be back next year and it will expand,” he said.
“We might split it into two different events, we might have a satellite event but Maryborough will be the centre of it.
“A big thank you to the US group for coming out and helping us, a big thanks to the local teachers who have taken this on and all the parents who were here to help — we are really excited about next year.”