UCL Computer Science awarded £200K grant for schools outreach project using Robotics

UCL Computer Science has been awarded an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) ICT Public Engagement Champion award (£200,000) to support the development, delivery, and evaluation of public engagement activities in information and communication technologies (ICT) over the next two years. 

The project, titled ‘Bio-Robotics: Crawl, Jump, and Slither!’, is a collaboration between:

• UCL Computer Science (Principal Investigator, Professor Ifat Yasin, and Co-Investigators Professor Steve Hailes, Dr Dimitrios Kanoulas, and Dr Rae Harbird)
• UCL Museums Access
• Widening Participation (Emma Bryant)
• UCL Engagement (Ben Littlefield)
• the UCL Grant Museum of Zoology. 

The project builds on the Department’s success in delivering robotics outreach activities over the past 10 years.

It offers an exciting and novel way to understand teachers’ needs to deliver teaching on a range of topics, change perceptions around teaching and learning, and engage young people with a wide range of STEM subjects, such as robotics, acoustic sensors, computing and coding, physics, mechanics, maths, biology, and physics.

Commenting on the award, Professor Ifat Yasin said: "This is a tremendous opportunity to communicate our enthusiasm and enjoyment of computer science topics to school students using teaching materials and content that are designed to support enquiry, engagement, and excitement."

Look out for regular updates about Bio-Robotics: Crawl, Jump, and Slither!

If you would like to know more about the project, please get in touch with Professor Ifat Yasin.