Encouraging Higher Education STEM Careers Through Robotics Competitions

Over the years, statistics from different universities have shown that not enough professionals graduate from higher education careers focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). For the last 5 years, a series of university outreach programs in Guatemala have been created promoting robotics, technology and engineering. These programs are focused in students from elementary to high school, where the participants are able to experience with robotics, while developing their STEM and soft skills and having fun. As a result of the outreach program of Universidad Galileo, two Robotics Competitions were held in Universidad Galileo campus; later evolving to three National Robotics Competitions, three participations in First Global Challenge (FGC) and two participations in Robomatrix Continental. After different surveys distributed and several feedback meetings with former National Team members, we can ensure that at least 75% of these students will be encouraged to follow a higher education STEM career or work in a STEM related job. Our filtering process has been improved to choose our international team members from a bigger pool and in a more accurate way. Our initial participation started with 8 students selected from a pool of 100 students and the last participation with 18 students from a pool of more than 2,400 students. We have proven that using multiple courses, MOOCs, workshops and the possibility to participate in national and international competitions encourages students to choose a higher education STEM related career in the near future.