High School Robotics League expands across Micronesia

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Category: News

Published: Thursday, 18 October 2018 13:15

Written by Bill Jaynes

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Habele
Students at nearly twenty high schools across the Federated States of Micronesia will participate in the Habele Robotics League this school year.
Building on the success of the popular Yap Robo League, the hands on robotics program is expanding to include high schools across Chuuk and Pohnpei for the first time. Over the course of the summer, Habele directors met with principals, officials and community leaders across these three states to introduce the program, set expectations, and plan out the 2018-19 school year.
For many of the new participants, the Habele Robotics League represents a first opportunity for students to engage with STEM learning in a hands-on way. Schools with previous Robo League experience provide an encouraging example for their peers across the FSM, through heightened interest in technology education, and dynamic student leadership. In Yap State, representatives from school robotics clubs have formed a Student Leadership Team, which meets to plan out details for competitions and training.
“New participants in Chuuk and Pohnpei are bringing a lot of enthusiasm and excitement to the Robo League this year,” says Matt Coleman, Executive Director of Habele. “The Yap Robo League has paved the way by showing that students are hungry for this kind of opportunity. They respond to it with real creativity and leadership.”

Following the delivery of new robot kits to participating schools, students across all three states will receive technical training from Habele instructors. In the Spring semester of 2019, students from Yap Catholic High School, the winners of the 2018 Robo Day competition, will send teams of students to Chuuk and Pohnpei for additional peer-to-peer instruction. Students in all three states are working towards participating in their respective Statewide Robo Days this Spring, where they will showcase the skills mastered over the course of the school year.
Established by former Peace Corps volunteers, Habele is a US-based nonprofit, advancing educational access and accomplishment across Micronesia.