A robotics competition being held at QUT this weekend will shine a light on some of Queensland's future scientists, and offer a challenge for some of the university's education students too.
The Radio 4BC FIRST Lego League competition is an international event which requires students aged from nine to 16 to build and program a robot to complete a set of challenges.
Queensland University of Technology will host the Brisbane leg, where teams will be judged by a panel, and the winner will have the chance to head to the national finals in Sydney and possibly the world finals in Atlanta.
Organisor and lecturer in the Faculty of Education's School of Mathematics, Science and Technology Dr Vinesh Chandra said QUT education students would be on the judging panel, and participate in a range of specialist tasks before and on the day of the event.
"Our pre-service teachers are very keen on getting some hands-on experience in a competition like this, as well as familiarising themselves with robotics technology," he said.
"One of the problems with robotics is that, while it is growing more popular in schools, it is hard to find teachers who are experienced in the area, so by participating in this event we are ensuring that our pre-service teachers develop appropriate skills in implementing this technology in their future classrooms.
"In mathematics and science there is an increasing amount of interest in schools in doing activities that use robots to enhance problem solving, team work and higher order thinking skills," Dr Chandra said.
One of the QUT pre-service teachers, Sam Young, of Cannon Hill, said she expected to be working a lot with Lego robotics in the future, and was keen to get a look at how young students responded to them.
"I think children are extremely technologically savvy, and Lego robotics are going to increase in popularity, so I wanted to be involved in this to gain a greater understanding myself," she said.
Alex Fernandes, from Chermside said he, too, was keen to be involved in the event.
"I find it all fascinating, a great addition to the curriculum and a chance for students to get very creative, involved, and learn a lot," he said.
"The kids who enter want to push themselves to make something quite unique that can do tasks, and that covers a lot of learning areas."
The Lego League competition has been running since 1999, when it was founded by US inventor Dean Kamen, and last year attracted 106,000 participants worldwide in more than 40 countries.
It will be held on Saturday at QUT's Kelvin Grove campus, and will be opened by Don Morgan, last year's grand final winner on the ABC's 'The New Inventors' program.
It is sponsored by radio station 4BC, National Instruments and Pixi School Photography.
Media contact: Sharon Thompson, QUT media officer - 3138 4494 or sharon.thompson@qut.edu.au
**Hi-res pics available for media
