Laois schools are to travel to Cork on February 26 and 27 to take part in the Nationals Finals of the VEX IQ Robotics Competition.
The competition comes with the opportunity ti represent Ireland at the World VEX IQ Robotics Championship in early May of this year.
Laois schools who had never before been at the finals of the competition, have debuted with a hugely impressive six schools.
The six schools that make up the numbers for Laois are: Colaiste Iosagain, Portarlington, Dunamase College, Portlaoise; Mountrath Community School.
These three will take part in the Junior Cycle competition on February 26.
For the Primary school section which takes place the following day, there is: Emo National School; Paddock National School; Pike of Rushall National School.
VEX IQ is a programme administered by the County Council in conjunction with Midlands Ireland, with funding from the European Union with the ‘Just Transition Fund’.
Under the programme, 27 primary and 10 secondary schools have received a VEX IQ Robotics Kit and Rapid Relay Competition Kit thanks to the broadband section of the County Council.
The program was set up to increase student interest in robotics and STEM-related activities. These include science, coding, math, and computer science among others.
It is also useful to build teamwork too, with robot building this is necessary and something the students can apply in their future too.
Schools are tasked to create teams to build, test and code their robot for the competition.
The programme is aimed to help Laois in the future too, with Laois Broadband Officer Antoinette Brennan hoping that students who enjoy the programme will “go on to retain the subjects of study and chose a similar career path”.
If people do maintain the subjects and go down a career path, there will be a direct impact of the proficiency of the county’s workforce.
“Laois needs skilled people in computer science engineering, coding and robotics, today and into the future” says Antoinette Brennan
With prospective jobs similar to these in the region, Brennan points out the skills gained are what is needed to ‘create sustainable and equitable jobs in Laois’.
Not alone with this rhetoric, Councillor Padraig Fleming, likewise, spoke candidly about the impact the programme can offer towards skills and sustainability in the county.
Overall, this plan seems to be focused on getting a better quality of life for the county. Which is no surprise, after seeing a good amount of participation from schools this year, which will only go up from here.
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