Robots used to lure science students

Building robots is the innovative way that the National University of Samoa (N.U.S.) has come up with to attract more students to take up science.

The university hopes to achieve this by involving students from six local schools to engage in a competition that will see them creating miniature robotic experiments for the big event in August.

The initiative, in collaboration with VEX Robotics and Kiwibots New Zealand, was launched yesterday at the Aoa Conference Room at the Institute of Higher Education, N.U.S.

The VEX Robotics Samoa Pilot Competition opened with a boot camp which will close on Wednesday.

A team of VEX Robotics New Zealand experts are in the country to conduct this camp to train local staff and students who are involved in the competition.  

NUS Vice Chancellor, Fui Le’apai Asofou So’o, in his opening remarks said the initiative is one of the many projects that the University is associated with, in order to address the lack of science and maths teachers in the country.

“This VEX Robotics boot camp is an excellent opportunity to introduce a robotics competition to schools and the country,” he said.

"It is hoped that this pilot competition will inspire a passion for science and technology among the students," he added.

In regards to the competition six local teams from six colleges will be involved in the competition; Robert Louis Stevenson Secondary, Le Amosa o Savavau Secondary School, Church College – Pesega, St Mary’s College, Samoa College and Aana1 College.

Students are expected to file a multi-level team of four students, preferably consisting of one Year 13 student, one Year 12, one Year 10 and one Year Nine student.

The teams will also have two staff members, a science and a math teacher.

Teams will be required to play the competition game chosen by VEX Robotics Leaders, who are led by JW Hodgson of the John Hodgson Orthodontist Clinic in Auckland.

The final competition forum will be scheduled in August with New Zealand VEX Robotics judges to attend, although the date of the competition has yet to be confirmed.

BlueSky Country Manager Toleafoa Douglas Creevey delivered the keynote address at the event.

He said the project aligns with the current vision of the BlueSky group of companies.

That is, to be recognised as the best at harnessing and innovating technologies for the advancement of Samoan communities worldwide.

“BlueSky Samoa has identified technology as one of its primary pillars for development and sponsorship assistance,” he said.

Toleafoa said these include the support, however feasible, of educational projects such as the VEX Robotics Samoa Pilot competition.

He said it is also an: “aligned driver to revive and stage this year’s National Science Fair for local schools and colleges.”

"This will surely encourage and identify the budding and future scientists, technicians, engineers and even laboratory researchers and medical engineers," he said.

“As an electrical and electronics engineer myself out of the University of Auckland in NZ, I am certainly excited at this wonderful opportunity for our young people to experience and be involved in an introduction to an almost futuristic element of science and technology that we are not versed with on a day to day basis,” said Toleafoa.

Reminiscing about the past while in school, he said that those who were selected at the time to do ‘introductory’ robotic projects in their final year were to his recollection “very astute computer whizzes”.

He said they were more versed in computer programming and control systems strengths compared to the undergraduates including himself from the Pacific Islands.

“At my University at the time, early robotic projects were leading towards developing solutions for the medical profession to support those patients with special needs or limited physical functions,” Tolefoa said.

“I am therefore very pleased, and I certainly congratulate all the sponsors, supporters, organisers and coordinators who have gotten us to this stage today, to enable and expose our graduates to these exciting technologies.”

He expressed his support and encouraged the other underlying theme for this type of venture was to produce a more qualified and scientifically literate human resource in Samoa, to teach these critical subject areas that currently face a shortage of teachers.

He then acknowledged all the teachers who made the extra effort to incite personal motivation and excitement to stimulate the enjoyment of the sciences and math in school.

“For all you students here this morning – if you enjoy and have a genuine interest in what you study, it will make your educational subjects and research more interesting and rewarding, and drive you on to succeed in your chosen higher level tertiary education degrees and eventual careers,” he said.

The Robotics Project is made possible by the generosity of JW Hodgson of the John Hodgson Orthodontist Clinic in Auckland, Isikuki Punivalu and Associates through Pacific Pearl, Samoa Stationery and Books, as well as Lomi and Fale Tomane of Tisaan Graphics.