FG, Coderina Empower Youths with Digital Skills

Digital Literacy Organisation, Coderina Educational and Technology Foundation has joined force with the Federal Government to promote digital learning and innovation among Nigerian young learners via the First Lego League (FLL) Robotics Championship and First Tech Challenge.

According to Coderina, the operator of FLL in Africa, the challenge aimed to transform education in Africa while shaping the youths to become a problem solver using technology tools.

Announcing the theme for this year’s challenge in Queens College, Lagos, Chairman, Board of Trustee of Coderina Educational and technology Foundation, Femi Niyi stated that FLL “is a project-based robotics coding programme that teaches kids how to use technology to solve current day challenges.”

He informed that for the project, a season theme is launched every year based on topic that has to do with everyday living of humanity.

He stated further that this year’s theme, ”Cargo Connect, Fast Forward” will be looking at how products, goods and services are being conveyed from one point to another.

“What we are doing with the theme is to drive young learners to begin to seek solutions. First, to get understanding on the current role or ways of cargo shipments, and then seek ways of solving different problems identified within the space.

“They will thereafter begin to look at the future of transportation and cargo movements. Later, they will together in a fun way display their learning outcomes, build innovative projects about the topic and interact with others on what they can learn and share.

“This will include the over 104 federal government colleges on the programme in partnership with us through the Federal Ministry of Education as well as over 50 other private schools that are on the programme in Nigeria”.

Speaking further, an Assistant Director at Federal Ministry of Education, Technology and Science Education Department, Kolawole Osundeyi lauded the impact of the initiative since inception.

“The initiative has brought significant changes to the students, most of who can now assemble robot, carry out coding and programming. Moreover, they have been able to attend international competition and come out excellently and so we are confident that our students can compete and stand side by side with their counterparts at the global stage”.

Niyi informed further that the FLL programme “is a championship that starts with eight to 10 weeks of project research, building, practice, and programming by the students with their mentors.

“At the end, they come into a competition, which is actually not a competition, between different schools or teams but a competition about how you can display your skills within a specific period of time.”

So, it is a co-operational team work with each team having 10 members. They learn team work and inclusiveness and then showcase their innovative products, robot designs and robot games.

“In the robot game, they are expected to perform a minimum of 11-13 missions on a table set up and perform specific missions that have to do with cargo movements and delivery in certain things using the robot.

“Winning is determined by team’s ability to program and perform within 2minutes 30 seconds as well as design of robots and innovative projects impact.”