• The Resolute Roboticon is happening later this month in Pretoria.
• 600 learners will use coding and robotics to solve real world problems for prizes.
• The event is hosted by Resolute Education and Oxford University Press South Africa as a way to grow STEM education in South Africa.

Over 600 school learners from 70 schools around the world will descend on Pretoria for the Resolute Roboticon, a coding and robotics competition.

Schools from as far as the United Arab Emirates will be heading to the capital city to compete in the competition. This year the theme is “City of the Future” and learners will cook up modern solutions for real world problems. The goal is to highlight how edtech can assist learners, many of whom will enter the workforce doing jobs that don’t even exist yet.

The Resolute Roboticon is hosted by Resolute Education and Oxford University Press South Africa as a way to grow STEM education in South Africa. Resolute Education helps schools with coding and robotics education, to date, 362 schools have implemented the company’s material in their curriculum.

“The world is moving so quickly that technology has become an everyday part of our lives, making it even more important to teach kids tech skills as early as possible,” says Rajesh Pasungili Ramakrishnan, Co-Founder and CEO of Resolute Education. “A competition like this provides kids with the opportunity to solve the real-world problems we face today.”

Learners will need to engage multidisciplinary learning, teamwork, critical thinking and time management in order to succeed in the competition.

“We want to take what is happening in the classroom and apply it to real-world experiences outside the classroom. It’s amazing to see parents witness their kids interacting with, facing, and overcoming challenges during the competition,” says Gareth Thompson, Co-Founder and CPO of Resolute Education.

The competition features several categories divided by age group. The Novice Emergency Responders Challenge involves children aged five to nine, who design, build, and programme robots to “save the day” in the City of the Future. The Apprentice Disaster Response Challenge is for Grades 4 to 6, where learners work together to rescue a robot in a quake-hit city. For the same age group, the Apprentice Innovators Challenge encourages pupils to create robotic solutions for natural disaster management, while the Advanced Innovators Challenge prompts them to develop similar solutions at a more advanced level.

Winners will receive tech prizes to help them take the next step in their coding exploration.

The Resolute Roboticon takes place on 26th October at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria. The website suggests the date is 19th October but this has since been changed. You can head here to register your child or school in the competition.