Robotics as a Learning Tool

29 Jan

Have you heard of Kiwibots?

If you’ve not come across them before, Kiwibots are an amazing charitable trust who deliver: “New Zealand's only large-scale robotics education and competition programme that covers all levels of schooling from primary through to university”.

In this blog, I’ve put together five reasons why robotics can spark a lifelong passion for engineering, teamwork and critical thinking. Whether you’ve had a little to do with robotics or a lot, I hope to inspire you to get involved in this year’s championships, or any of the many other events or activities Kiwibots run nationwide.

Five reasons to get behind competitive robotics:

1) Kids become confident problem-solvers

Robotics competitions involve problem-solving to meet a brief – each year the game design is different. Contestants learn to break down big engineering problems into a few smaller ones and find creative solutions to solve each of them. And it’s not just the finished product that matters – one of the requirements is to keep a design notebook, which captures the whole design process (design, build, test and evaluate) and the team’s discoveries as they go. There are even prizes for the best notebooks!

2) Learn how to win and lose

Teams compete in regular “scrimmages,” where they test-drive their robots with and against other teams. These regular scrimmages can pave the way to regional, national and international competitions, which New Zealand teams have won several times! Winning is always fun, but failing also helps contestants evaluate and improve their efforts, prompting questions such as, “Why didn’t that work? Is there a better solution? Will this be a smaller fix, or do we need to start over to solve this? What can we learn from the other teams?”

3) Build character and develop lifelong people skills

As with many other team sports, robotics competitions build character by normalising failure, encouraging resilience, and working together towards a shared goal. Learning how to organise a team and collaborate well are valuable life skills – and even if engineering doesn’t become a contestant’s future career, project management might!

4) Experience and enjoy the tactile and tangible

In an increasingly digital world, practical skills can feel like a dying craft. Robotics competitions encourage contestants to use physical tools and working with materials like aluminium and steel boosts their physical dexterity.

5) Parents and industry get to invest in the next generation of creators and changemakers

Practical experience is vital for our next generation of skilled engineers, while creative problem-solving is a sought-after skill in our rapidly changing world. The hands-on approach in robotics is a great way to offset the norm of theory-heavy academic subjects. But despite these obvious benefits, Kiwibots programmes are often difficult to bring into the classroom, remaining as extracurricular activities. This sadly means certain demographics can miss out on participating in robotics.

But the good news is when you invest in these competitions you invest in our children’s future and the engineering industry as a whole.

I’m convinced. How do I get involved?

For parents – encourage your kids and the schools they attend to get involved in robotics. The upcoming National Championships could be a great way to spark some interest!
For teachers and schools – consider engaging Kiwibots as the powerful educational resource it is! For more information, reach out to Kiwibots National Manager, Janet Van by emailing: j.van@kiwibots.co.nz
For industry – don’t just focus on new engineering graduates! Make a much wider impact in our communities by supporting kids and schools at an earlier stage. Get in touch with Janet at Kiwibots to see how you can partner with this incredible initiative.

This is a photo of my daughter Mikayla competing in the Kiwibots National Championships several years ago. She is now a third-year studying Mechatronics at Auckland University and has just been interning at a company that makes robotic forklifts - how cool is that!

All I say is: watch out Elon Musk!

Edited by: Katie Rickson

David Stokes