Robotics Education driven by Interregional Cooperation

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Schools and universities are currently experiencing a lack of interest in STEM subjects (mathematics, computer science, science and technology) and well-trained teachers in Austria and Slovakia. Women are especially underrepresented in the MINT areas. This creates bottlenecks in the labor market although there is an increasing demand for STEM staff throughout the region. Robotics in education has proven to be a valuable tool for practical learning, not just for robotics itself, but in general for STEM topics. RoboCoop is a unique project with the aim to exploit the multidisciplinary potential of robotics and to establish cross-border educational activities in order to arouse interest in STEM topics. Through the mix of complementary activities such as workshops, student conferences, and competitions, young people get different entry points in science and technology. In particular, more girls should be interested in MINT as the mix of methods focuses not only on technology but also on creativity. In addition, an educational portal will provide access to digital materials that can be used in classroom, off-school, and home-based courses. In addition, the project will provide teachers with new tools for STEM subjects to integrate them into their lessons. The RoboCoop project encourages and engages more than 4,000 students, universtiy students and innovative STEM educators on an interregional level to serve as a positive example of broader national engagement in the two countries. In addition, a comprehensive evaluation of all project activities should result in policy recommendations to ensure a systematic and long-term implementation of project ideas thus leading to the early introduction of robotics issues at secondary level.

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