Robotics education is becoming a new and easy way of promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for students, in addition to the growing role of robotics in the manufacturing sector, as it enhances efficiency, precision, and safety across industries. The robotics landscape is growingly redefining the innovative way in industries, especially combined with artificial intelligence (AI), robotics is becoming a driving factor in promoting competitiveness, increasing operational efficiency as well as reducing the cost of manufacturing across industries.
As it helps children and the youth generation to think critically and differently and to develop their innovative skills early, robotics education is becoming the easy way of providing education to develop the knowledge and skills of youths in STEM education. Following the development of robotics education, national, continental, and international robotics competitions among students is becoming a new trend in recent years.
As a country investing in the development of science, innovation and technology to drive its socio-economic development, Ethiopia is also promoting the development of STEM education in its pedagogy. Due to this development, robotics education and training for the young generation gets new attention. Taking the first initiative in Africa to develop and promote robotics education, Ethio Robotics started robotics education training and a national robotics competition a few years ago in Ethiopia. And this year, Ethio Robotics, in collaboration with the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT) and Ethio Telecom, organized the third African Robotics Championship, where more than 400 students from various local and international schools based in Addis Ababa attended the three-day robotics competition event at the Science Museum here in Addis Ababa.
Herani Abnet is a 9th-grade student at British International School in Addis Ababa. By developing a robotics game, Herani with a team of other 10 students from her school, are competing at the third Africa Robotics Championship. Approached by the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA), Herani said that she attended robotics education at Ethio Robotics, parallel to her formal class and the robotics class helped her to develop her knowledge and skills in robotics. And, after attending the robotics education for almost a year, with her classmates, she developed her knowledge and skills in robotics and came to compete at the national robotics championship.
“We came here to make a game robot. The game is to score the highest score in the tournament. It is all about winning the game with scoring the highest score and I am confident that my team to win the competition,” Herani said. According to her, she joined the robotics class as she is interested in developing her STEM education as well as her knowledge and skills in the robotics sector. As to Herani, the robotics class provides theoretical and practical training in robotics and related technologies which is not available in the former class. “Robotics education for young students is crucial to develop their talent in STEM, to cultivate the innovative ideas of the youth generation, and helps to develop critical thinking,” she stated.
For Herani, the role of robotics is growing and playing a great role across various industries. As a result, Hirani calls on the youth generation to give due attention to learning robotics and its functions. “It is important for students at all levels to develop the culture of learning robotics as we are in the era of technological revolution. This generation should be active in learning and developing skills in robotics to develop innovative capacity and modifying technological innovations,” she added.
As to Herani, as technology is growing at a fast and unprecedented level and growing its impact on every sector, it is crucial for the young generation to give due attention to learning technological innovations as their future is dependent on technology, and “robotics is the easiest way to learn, understand and become familiar with technological innovations.” Hence, it is critically important for students to be familiar with early and develop the culture of learning robotics and other innovations. “In addition to developing innovative and technological skills, learning robotics for students helps to develop critical thinking and develop their understanding of situations differently,” she reiterated.
For her part, a grade eight student at Mekanisa Abadir Mosque School, Intisar Nur said that learning robotics for young students is a base for their future to develop innovative skills, critical thinking, and other technological innovations. Herani was computing at the national Africa Robotics Championship by developing a robotics with a team of other students after she took the robotics training. She joined Ethio Robotics School to take robotics training, a local company investing in robotics development in Ethiopia.
By joining the robotics class, she received coding training suitable for the youth generation. By forming a team, Intisar’s team developed a robotics following the training and they are competing at the national robotics tournament. The name of the robotics game they developed is Rapid Relay and it targets collecting balls and score the balls into the targeted place as many as possible within a short time.
Intisar’s vision is beyond winning the competition; she is aiming to become a skilled and professional expert in the robotics sector in the future, as she is dreaming of supporting the development of her country. “Robotics is the base and the starting point for youngsters and talented students who want to specialize in AI and other technological innovations,” she stated adding “Joining robotics class helps to develop the basics of robotics and lays the foundation for AI and other innovations early.”
Speaking during the opening ceremony of the Africa Robotics Championship, Bayisa Bedada (PhD), State Minister of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT) said that Ethiopia prioritizes innovation as a central driver of economic transformation following the national reform. As technological innovation becomes among the pillars of the economic development of the country, Ethiopia is working on laying the foundations for technological development and local innovations by focusing on infrastructural development, implementing new policies and strategies to create suitable ecosystems and human resource development, including cultivating youth talents.
Accordingly, he said, to develop human resources in the science, innovation and technology sector, Ethiopia gives due focus on STEM education, expanding to access to programs in coding like the Five Million Coders initiative, robotics and AI to equip students with essential skills for the future. Similarly, Ethiopia is building technology hubs and innovation centers to provide resources and mentorship to help young innovators aiming at expanding across Ethiopia, the state minister added. As to him, platforms such as the African Robotics Championship can serve as a platform to “enhance skills that will shape Africa’s future, collaborate and inspire one another and inspiring and cultivating vanguards’ of Africa’s technological future,” he stated calling stakeholders to invest in cultivating innovative talents in Africa.
Approached by EPA, Ethio Robotics Manager Bethlehem Habtamu stated that the robotics class as well as the robotics championship targets cultivating, promoting and inspiring the youth generation on STEM education and robotics. According to the manager, more than 400 students are competing at the national robotics tournament, local and international students based in Ethiopia, including international students from Sudan, Kenya and other African countries based in Addis Ababa. “Its goal is to promote African students in the science, technology, and innovation sector,” she said.
“By focusing on STEM education and STEM competition, its aim is working on developing and cultivating an innovative generation in Africa,” Bethlehem stated. Three finalists of the tournament will represent Ethiopia at international competition in the USA’s VEX Robotics 2025 tournament. “Elementary, middle school, high school, and university students are attending the competition at different levels. The main purpose of the championship is developing and creating an innovative and creative generation in the technology and innovation sector,” Bethlehem added.
For her, promoting and developing innovative skills and talents early by investing on the youth generation is crucial to develop innovative experts in agriculture, education, health, science and other sectors.
BY DARGIE KAHSAY
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 21 MARCH 2025
