A Dynamic and Exciting Robotics Education, from MRIS in a tie-up with the best School in the world for Robotics Education, Carnegie Mellon University. A great opportunity to use state-of-the-art curricula in Robotics as a platform to teach Computer Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (CS-STEM) to children at the junior, middle and high school levels.

Carnegie Mellon University, MRIS’ associate is the only American top 25 university founded in the 20th century, and an internationally recognized institution with a distinctive mix of world-class and best-ranked educational and research programmes in computer science, robotics, engineering, entertainment technology, business, public policy and fine arts. The international university has students from over 100 countries, with main campuses in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Silicon Valley and other campuses / joint collaborations in Qatar, Portugal, Greece, Korea, Japan, India, Singapore, Mexico and Argentina.

MRIS follows a structured approach. We start with the early years where we teach through lego kits and move on to the primary and secondary classes. There the instructions are based on modules that consist of programming, multisensor robotics control, building relationships, managing projects and designing. To accomplish this, we will create a lego world and an iCarnegie lab.

iCarnegie was founded in 1998 as a wholly owned educational subsidiary of Carnegie Mellon University. iCarnegie's mission is to develop and deliver high quality scalable educational programs around the globe that are practical and that help build capacity regionally and nationally. No wonder, the programmes at MRIS include a unique approach to education that combines foundational knowledge, communications (soft and language skills) and Project experiences and have been delivered in more than 20 countries, across Europe, North and Latin America, Asia and Australia.

This project at MRIS intends to help students accomplish just that: to grow the intellectual capital that a country needs to compete globally by exposing students to proven educational technologies to teach computers Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (CS-STEM) .

Of the billions of computer processors manufactured around the world, less than 3% become the brains of new PCs, Macs, and UNIX workstations. The other ninety seven percent go into embedded systems. These processors control every modern electronic device, from toys to traffic lights to televisions to nuclear power plants. These processors help run factories, control automotive systems, and enable the worldwide flow of information, products, and people. Experts say that in 2010, 90% of the overall programme code developed around the globe is for embedded computing systems. Educational robotics at MRIS provides an opportunity to train students on how embedded systems work, how to design, control and implement them.

Robotics at MRIS offers an exciting and premier context for teaching and integrating Computing, Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (CS-STEM) concepts available to education today. It has evolved as a transformational technology found everywhere, a critical enabler in all industry sectors: energy, agriculture, manufacturing, health care, service, construction, education, and defense. This project ensures that students learn the engineering design process, and mathematical and algorithmic thinking that positions the country for future economic success.

The project at MRIS selects parts of the best materials that Carnegie Mellon has developed and interprets them. In addition, the project uses in-depth qualitative methods to evaluate the ways in which Carnegie Mellon materials and web-tools are educative for students, also feeding these results into a unit refinement process.

A tried, tested approach Carnegie educational principles are founded on those of its parent, Carnegie Mellon University, emphasizing practical, problem solving and an interdisciplinary, learn-by-doing methodology. The educational approach at MRIS relies heavily on creating an engaging student and instructor experience through courses, assignments and projects, a continuous development mechanism for instructors and the implementation of principles and practices to ensure effective learning through rigorous course design, course evaluations and reflection.

A unique three tier model throughout the programmes is used that includes
1) A foundational element, where core concepts and knowledge are taught.
2) A soft-skills element where teamwork and communications skills are emphasized and explored and practiced.
3) A project based experience where application of the first two tiers is conducted on a real live project.

iCarnegie uses a blended learning approach. Programmes are delivered by an in-class instructor, trained by iCarnegie and the Robotics Academy. Student materials are presented in written form and through a web-based learning management system that supports the workflow needs of students. Students have access to course information, course content and related discussion forums. In addition, students can take assessments and view instructor feedback, supporting their efforts to improve as the course progresses.

Students learn best when they have high quality instruction. To maintain quality, iCarnegie has developed multiple mechanisms that help insure that the level of instruction provided can be monitored, adjusted and improved over time.

Several studies have found that mathematics can serve as a thinking tool for making conceptual analysis of complex scientific situations more approachable for students. The curriculum begins at the 3rd and 5th grade level, beginning with pre-algebra concepts and introduces students to engineering. At the 6th through 8th grade level, robotics and computer science provide context for students and develop algebraic reasoning -- which is a critical instructional topic for middle-school age children. This is also the time that children are developing their own identities for (or often against) science and engineering careers. At the 9th through 10th grade level the academic focus is on physics, advance computer science, and engineering projects. This methodology includes interventions aimed at increasing interest in CS-STEM careers by providing the appropriate mathematics at that level allowing students not to just dream about a CS-STEM career, but also to prepare for one.

All Courses Foreground Science, Mathematics, Engineering Process, & Computer Science

A curricular approach (outlined below) that blends the academic mathematics, science, engineering and technology concepts with the development of the necessary skills set for today's workforce. Students master the concepts at one level and build on these concepts at each proceeding level. Academic concepts are introduced using real world contexts/scenarios in ways that the students understand and find engaging.

As part of the programme, country wide competitions of student teams are held. These allow the students to work year round to apply what they had learned in the classroom on producing robots that compete with one another on completing specific pre-defined tasks. Students work in teams, building relationships, finding pride, understanding responsibility, managing projects, designing and implementing solutions all along the way. The Robotic-STEM competitions are structured around specific themes where solutions are developed to target social, economical or environmental problems in the country.

Robotics Camp For those who are unable to participate in regular classes throughout the year, there is a short intensive summer programme called Robo-Camp that provides kids of all ages with a chance to participate in similar activities. These summer camps provide ways to engage, energize and capture the motivation of students so that they become familiar and interested in technology and the sciences. Camps provide knowledge and structured learning, project experience in design and implementation of robotic systems and teamwork, collaborative experiences with people from all over the country.

At the end of the assessment, students understand better what and how to integrate the curriculums with those currently in existence, into a cohesive programme including the various courses, course sequence and methods of teaching that best suits the intended audience, their skills and abilities and the existing teaching infrastructure.

Programme evaluation is a continuous process and, on-going assessment mechanisms are created to evaluate the programme/courses delivered and adjust the curriculums presented, the teaching techniques or the delivery pace, accordingly.