Schoolchildren participated in a robotics workshop

Nearly 30 high school students from ten schools in the Maule Region participated in a bootcamp at UTalca, where they completed the creation of robots that measure air pollution in their surroundings. This activity was the culmination of a remote workshop held in May and organized by the American Academy of Science and Technology (AAST), a UTalca entity in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Chile. "This is a practical activity that they can take back to their schools and is a life experience," said Lisbet Yáñez, Coordinator of International Cooperation at UTalca's International Relations Department. One of the aspects highlighted by the professional was that this workshop featured a majority of female students, reflecting the activity's gender-focused approach and its aim to increase the participation of young women in the field of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics). "The goal is for them to have a practical pedagogical experience in the context of STEAM, through various factors such as prioritizing work in technology," the coordinator explained. Future engineers “I learned a lot, and now we'll have a new robot to take to school and use to teach the little ones about robotics,” said Cristian Quijije, a first-year student at the San Martín Institute in Curicó. The teachers also emphasized the importance of the event for the development of young people. “I think it's essential for the University to have contact with school-age students who are interested in technology, in order to further develop their knowledge,” explained Daniela Reyes, a Science and Technology teacher who participated with her students. The teacher added, “This gives them a scientific perspective on research, on the one hand, and the knowledge of programming this Arduino robot and assembling the hardware components. There are several aspects involved in the final result, which is the robot working and taking measurements, data that will be used for research,” she concluded. AAST UTalca has maintained a partnership with the U.S. Embassy for over 15 years, which allows it to regularly apply for funding to carry out activities like this one, related to the areas of science and technology, the environment, and gender. "We seek to facilitate these conversations between experts from both countries, to bring these experiences to diverse audiences in Chile, from preschool students to the general public," she explained.