Robotics spring to life at DKIT VEX regional schools final
ROBOTS sprang to life at Dundalk Institute of Technology this week as more than 200 students and teachers showcased their Vex Robotics projects while competing in the VEX regional finals.
For the second year in a row, fifteen primary and secondary school teams from Louth, Meath Monaghan and Dublin competed in the VEX Robotics Challenge, which sees students designing and developing their own robots.
The VEX Robotics Challenge helps young people develop STEAM skills for life, according to DkIT Lecturer & Vex Robotics Coordinator, Shane Darcy,
‘ The children impressed the judges immensely on the day, not only their robotics skills but also their innovation, creativity, team work and presentation skills. As an Institute we’re always keen to promote the exciting side of STEAM subjects and we run an active outreach programme which aims to inspire students to become interested in computing, engineering and maths at an early stage. VEX Robotics is a perfect example of how STEAM can come to life through teamwork and a bit of healthy competition.’
The VEX Robotics Challenge is a national programme for primary and secondary school level students and encourages them to work in teams to design, build and program a robot. Preparation with students has been taking place since September. DKIT held its first scrimmages in November of last year to prepare students for the competition phases.
A variety of North East Regional awards were presented to schools on the day. Locally, the Judges Award which went to CBS Primary School Dundalk.
St Mary’s Parish Primary School was awarded the overall regional ‘Excellence Award’ will now progress to the National Robotics Competition which takes place later in the year.
Dr Phillip Scanlon, Student Recruitment and Retention Officer for computing programmes at DkIT added: ‘We hope that participation in programmes such as VEX Robotics will positively influence the subject choices that students make when preparing for Leaving Cert and when selecting courses for third level education.’