Barbados Minister of Energy and Business Development Senator Lisa Cummins has proposed the development of an educational program that will combine robotics and renewable energy for schools across the island.
Senator Cummins announced the initiative while visiting the St Michael School summer camp on Friday emphasizing that it would require collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
“I would like to see that with the programs and the investments we have already made in robot kits for the energy sector that we can work with the Ministry of Education to roll it out as a part of the mainstream education curriculum” she said.
The proposal follows the recent Energy Science Week, an inaugural summer camp for children aged six to 11, co-hosted by the Division of Energy and the Ministry of Innovation, Industry, Science and Technology (MIST). The camp, which saw more than 100 children participate, featured STEM activities led by teams from Robot Adventures and Relay Education.
During the camp, children engaged in hands-on projects, including building solar cars and wind farms. The energy minister highlighted the importance of early exposure to these technologies: “I really wanted to make sure that the young people could see, feel and touch what the energy future for them can look like.”
Senator Cummins also noted the career-oriented aspect of the program.
“For the last couple of days, one of the things that they have also been able to see is career opportunities; the potential career paths that they can craft for themselves because they’ve now been exposed,” she added.
The proposed curriculum aims to build on the success of the camp, potentially bringing similar experiences to classrooms across the island. The minister is touting curriculum integration as a significant step towards preparing youth for future careers in renewable energy and technology.
