Technology firms seek to help schools offer robotics lessons

BEIJING: Like in the United States, knowledge of robots will likely become an integral part of school education in China in the not-so-distant future, if some forward-thinking technology firms have their way.

Already, STEM – an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics – is part of an inter-disciplinary approach that marks school education in developed nations.

The United States is the leader in this respect. The Obama administration allocated US$240mil (RM970mil) last year to promote STEM-centric education. The total investment in this sector so far by the US government has reached US$1bil (RM4bil).

Sui Shaolong, chief operating officer of RoboTerra Inc, an educational robotics company in Silicon Valley, said: “Compared with the traditional education model, school education that includes robotics could let students learn how to analyse and solve problems.

“Building a robot could sharpen their thinking ability in terms of space and structure.”

RoboTerra has already provided one-stop solutions about robot curriculum and STEM-centric education to dozens of schools in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an and Shenzhen.

Founded in 2014, RoboTerra develops robotics kits that inspire students’ creativity, imagination and ability to innovate. Sui and his team are making efforts to introduce US-style robot education in China.

Bai Chen, RoboTerra’s chief technology officer, said traditional education in China tends to penalise students for making mistakes, whereas robot education will encourage them to make mistakes and learn from them. — China Daily / Asia News Network