Robotics programs could be coming to a high school near you thanks to a $250,000 cash injection from the B.C. government.
Premier John Horgan paid a visit to Reynolds Secondary School Tuesday to announce the grant, given to First Robotics BC.
First Robotics BC is a non-profit that provides students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 with the opportunities to learn the skills needed to build and code their own robots.
First Robotics also provides funding so students can participate in robotics competitions around North America.
"This allows us to start more teams in more places and really move the program outside of the major city centres of Vancouver and Victoria,” said Ian Kosceilski, the regional director for First Robotics BC. “Then spread it to the rest of the province that might not otherwise have a chance without provincial funding helping them out.”
Last year nearly 1,200 students got involved in the program throughout B.C. With this new money, 600 more students will get the opportunity to participate in 2019.
“This leads to greater outcomes for kids,” said Horgan. "Seventy-five per cent of the graduates from this program go onto a career in science, technology, engineering or math. That’s the future economy and that’s what we need.”
Horgan called the announcement a modest investment for a tremendous payback.
