Novelis Korea to foster robotics experts
Students operate robots during the 2022-2023 Korea Robot Championship held in Daejeon, Feb. 10. Courtesy of Novelis Korea
By Kim Jae-heun
Novelis, a leader in sustainable rolling and recycling of aluminum, has been at the frontier in fostering young experts living outside the Seoul capital region, according to company officials, Tuesday.
Since 2019, the company has been sponsoring a scholarship team with FEST Creative Engineering Education Association every year and providing free robot-making kits to participants while running workshops and offering education sessions.
After the sessions, students are given the opportunity to participate in the Korea Robot Championship, the country's largest robot-making contest, to make robots and solve problems related to global issues. The winners of the championship are eligible to join the Global Robot Championship.
“As a result of providing robot coding education to a total of 323 students from 63 teams since 2019, the Novelis scholarship teams have shown notable accomplishments at the robot championship by garnering a Winning Alliance award and a Rising Star award,” a Novelis Korea official said. “Novelis will continue its efforts to foster future experts while forming an educational community in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, together with the FEST Creative Engineering Education Association.”
Such education opportunities are rare for students living outside the capital region, especially those related to robot programming.
“There are barely any IT firms in North Gyeongsang Province and the opportunity to participate in workshops and educational sessions is very rare for students here,” said Kang Hyun-woo, a teacher at Yeongju Girls' High School. “Novelis' scholarship has helped many students to experience the career they want to pursue.”
“We have been participating in robot coding education sponsored by Novelis for four years and it is a great opportunity for students to get involved in the science and engineering fields through experience,” said Yu Jong-keun, a teacher at Daeyoung Middle School. “The education session is also helping middle and high school students with their career planning.”