On Tuesday, June 13, 2023, the Robo Olympics competition and NITRO Clubs EU multiplier event took place in Kosice, at the TUKE University, Slovakia within the NITRO Clubs EU – Network of ICT Robo Clubs project (Project ID: 2020-1-BG01-KA202-079200), a Erasmus+ VET strategic partnership initiative in the field of robotics, implemented by organizations from Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia.
The event included both an important component of disseminating project results and the organization of the Robo Olympics competition for children and teenagers, which enjoyed real interest from participants in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
The organizers of the event, TUKE University and SPSE Kosice, brought together 124 participants, including 26 participants from the Czech Republic.
During the robotics competition, students had the opportunity to experience following lines, avoiding obstacles, when following a track, PS2 control of the robot, tracking objects of the Husky lens camera, solving the maze, programming the robot using laptops, embedding printed parts 3D in projects, modification of programs / sketches, etc.
The multiplier event was attended by representatives of educational institutions active in the field of technology, teachers and coordinators, representatives of the business environment in Slovakia and other categories of stakeholders concerned with the scope and results of the NITRO Clubs EU project.
Within the multiplier event, the representatives of TUKE University and SPSE Kosice made an overview of the project objectives, the intellectual products developed, the results obtained, as well as the main methodologies developed within the project.
The Robo Olympics highlighted both the skills acquired within the project, as well as the reliability and speed of reaction of the Arduino robots that helped to fix and strengthen the robotics knowledge of the participating pupils and students.
The NITRO Clubs EU multiplier event and robotics competition, held in Kosice, Slovakia, highlighted the ongoing concern of VET organizations in Slovakia to cultivate STEM skills among children and youth and promote the benefits of technology on a large scale.
The atmosphere during the activities was electrifying and vibrant, especially when teachers and their students came together to try out the NITRO Clubs robots. The students learned, collaborated and left inspired by the fantastic ideas, while the teachers had the revelation of putting the theoretical concepts to work in a novel and attractive way.
At the same time, the events in Kosice held under the auspices of Erasmus+ demonstrated the special involvement of the university environment and pre-university institutions in expanding digital skills and in particular the basic notions of robotics, elements that can substantially reform the technological training of children and young people for the labor market.