The Non-Profit Organization WRO Hellas with the support of OTE and COSMOTE announces for the first time the Pan-Hellenic Educational Robotics Competition exclusively for primary school children, aged 8-12 years old. The competition is part of the broader effort for the dissemination of the new educational STEM method (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) and its integration into the teaching and educational system of students in Greece.
The Competition under the theme “My town” will run from late October 2014 until February 2015, and it is organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Education & Religious Affairs, with the valuable assistance of the Pan-Hellenic Informatics’ Teachers Association (PEKAP). This is an initiative that aims to provide an opportunity for children and teachers from all the 13 Regions of the country to develop their talent, imagination and scientific skills in order to design and create a complete robotic construction-model which will simulate the competition theme “My town”. Each team’s project, consisting of 3-6 students, will be evaluated by a committee of distinguished scientists judging from the conception of the idea, the planning, the construction, the presentation, the function of the Team and the designed animation video, which will be running the Scratch software. Teams wishing to participate in the competition can register online at the official website www.wrohellas.gr.
As Mr I. Somalakidis, President of WRO Hellas, states: “There has been demonstrated in countries such as the USA, Germany and other European countries, that the STEM method can help develop skills and encourage children’s engagement in interactive activities in the fields of science, mathematics, engineering and technology. Greece should not ignore these developments and I feel that through specific actions this method can be integrated into the Greek educational system“.
Ms Deppie Tzimea, OTE Group Corporate Communications Director, said: “Through this initiative OTE and COSMOTE contribute to the development of students’ digital skills from an early age and to their familiarization with the new technologies. These are now the essential job skills for the next generation“.
As part of their sponsorship OTE and COSMOTE develop a series of promotional and communication actions of the competition, while OTE TV will be serving as the Communication Sponsor of the project. Among other things, the two companies assume the cost of attendance for all schools in every corner of Greece, and they offer the rewards for the winning teams. The OTE Telecommunications Museum will host relevant programmes, which will be targeted at selected groups of students in constant correlation with the permanent collections of the Museum.