An internationally acclaimed robotics competition will be hosted in Adelaide for the first time this December, after receiving funding from the State Government.
The Vex Robotics Competition will host the brightest minds from schools around the nation, providing students with the opportunity to show off their smarts in this key component of STEM education in a competitive setting, while at the same time exposing them to future employment opportunities.
$15,000 in funding has been provided by the State Government to support the national event, which will be hosted from 6 to 8 December at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
Around 750 people are expected to attend the event, including 600 travelling from interstate.
The competition brings Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to life by tasking teams of students with designing and building a robot to compete against other teams in a game-based engineering challenge.
The national competition in Adelaide will see teams vying for 12 spots at the international tournament in Louisville, Kentucky in April 2020. The international event is the largest robotics competition in the world and is attended by the likes of Google, Tesla and NASA.
Premier Steven Marshall said the Vex Robotics Competition will bring great opportunities for South Australian students.
“This is a coup for South Australia, and we are thrilled Adelaide is hosting a national robotics competition of this kind, exposing more of our students to global and future industry opportunities,” said Premier Marshall.
“We want our young people exposed to opportunities which test and expand their knowledge as the demand for STEM specialisations increase, particularly in the space, shipbuilding, cyber and advanced manufacturing industries.
“Competitions like this help our young people to recognise their potential, and we want to fully support them to confidently consider a future career in STEM.”
Education Minister John Gardner said the competition allows students to apply modern learning in a fun and competitive environment.
“The Vex Robotics Competition is designed to challenge, motivate and inspire students with hands-on learning applications based on real-world problems,” said Minister Gardner.
“We are working hard to ensure our students develop into creative and collaborative critical thinkers, who have STEM knowledge and skills that equip them for their pathways through everyday life and future work.
“STEM learning will play a vital role in developing our future workforce and we are committed to offering more opportunities for our students to develop the skills that industry needs.”
