Programmable robots teach kids how to code 

The colourful, playful design makes it fun for children to practise essential skills

Spotted: The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2025, “85 million jobs may be displaced by a shift in the division of labour between humans and machines, while 97 million new roles could emerge that are more adapted to the new division of labour between humans, machines and algorithms.” There may be net gain in jobs, but industry concerns remain, with the authors of the report highlighting that: “Skills gaps continue to be high.”  

With gender and socioeconomic achievement gaps remaining in most areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), sparking the interest of primary school children could be one of the strongest means of building the required skills while also democratising STEM subjects. One solution is the out-of-the-box teaching package for primary-age students created by the Austrian coding and robotics company, Robo Wunderkind. 

Designed to be taught by educators of any background, packages include a curriculum, teaching support, and continuous professional development opportunities for teachers. Once a class or school signs up, the Robo Wunderkind team helps design a personalised teaching programme. With three different levels of complexity to choose from, the system suits primary school students at all different levels of knowledge and skills. And once the robot is built, students develop its capabilities to perform a huge range of tasks. 

As a method of closing some of the gaps in STEM, innovators are encouraging careers in the industry through a variety of means, and Springwise has spotted a doll with a learn-to-code component, and a mentorship platform for one-to-one tech industry career support. 

Written By: Keely Khoury