- Curro is set to host the South African arm of the Word Robot Olympiad.
- The local arm will see finalists from South Africa represent at the international finals in Turkey at the end of the year.
- Nearly 2 000 of the best and brightest learners in the robotics field took part in the regionals, with the finals set for Randburg in September.
Private school group Curro is the South African host for the World Robot Olympiad, a global competition seeking the best and brightest robotics learners in the world. Some of the regionals in the competition have already taken place as of 3rd August 2024, but the South African finals are still upcoming.
While robotics and coding have been a work in progress to reach public schools across South Africa, thanks to initiatives from the Department of Basic Education, private schooling has been quicker to adapt robotics into curricula, such as Curro which launched its own robotics modules in 2013.
Most recently the Mpumalanga provincial government introduced coding and robotics in 128 schools, as part of its pilot programme with provincial governments across South Africa expected to follow suit.
A total of 755 teams and nearly 2 000 learners representing 162 different schools took part in the early regionals of the World Robot Olympiad in South Africa, across multiple provinces. Curro says in a statement sent to Hypertext that this year sees the most ever participants in South Africa.
Curro itself had 270 learners participating provincially, among 110 teams representing the school.
“This growth, specifically within the Curro schools is due to continuous training, competition preparations and internal Cluster Competitions, together with teacher passion and growing confidence through these efforts,” explains Jurie de Jager, Curro Curriculum Lead for Coding & Robotics and World Robot Olympiad Western Cape Vice-Chairman.
Due to increased demand this year, two new provinces were added to the competition to accommodate the growing number of regional participants – the highest number to date. This increase is a testament to a growing interest in robotics and coding as well as dedication to shaping the next generation of leaders in STEM.
”This year’s WRO is an opportunity to showcase our approach to technological education as we proudly host, participate and judge the preliminary stages of this event,” says Jurie de Jager, Curro Curriculum Lead for Coding & Robotics and WRO Western Cape Vice-Chairman.
The World Robot Olympiad takes place across 95 countries worldwide with a mission to promote robotics and STEM among schools.
“Categories in the 2024 competition include RoboMission, where teams build and program LEGO robots to tackle field challenges; RoboSports, featuring teams designing robots to compete in sports games; Future Innovators, focused on developing robotics projects to address real-world problems; and Future Engineers, which involves creating advanced robotics solutions based on current research trends,” Curro adds.
The final, which takes place after the regions will be held at Curro Aurora in Randburg on 13th and 14th September 2024. The learners that impress the most at this stage will be flown to compete at the International World Robot Olympiad Finals on 28th and 30th November 2024 in Izmir, Turkey.
[Image – Provided]
