Students from Corpus Christi Catholic Middle School and FJ Brennan Catholic High School celebrated the end of a unique 5-week pilot project on Friday, where they teamed up with local organizations like Invest Windsor-Essex, WE-Tech Alliance, and others. The goal was to make science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and robotics more exciting for youth.
The project started in the spring when the St. Clair College Research and Development team received a $500,000 grant from the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network. This money helped buy 500 robots that ended up in 33 classrooms across 12 schools in Windsor-Essex and Chatham Kent.
During the project, 7th and 9th-grade students took simple Lego kits and turned them into robots they could control. With guidance from the University of Windsor Faculty of Education students and St. Clair College Robotics students, the 7th and 9th-grade students discovered the fun side of coding and programming.
Kamsi Bona, a second-year St. Clair College Robotics student involved in the project, shared, "This program has been a huge success. It's something new, and now students are thinking about careers in engineering and STEM fields."
Harikrishna Trivedi, also part of the second-year Robotics program, added, "This is a fantastic opportunity for these students. With the world moving the way it is, having skills in robotics, coding, and programming will give them an advantage."
The pilot project wraps up in December, and there's optimism that it will continue into the new year.
