Robotic technology is rapidly evolving, but could it help to close the STEM equity gap for young people from low socioeconomic backgrounds?
ACU experts in Information Technology from the Peter Faber Business School hosted a five-day workshop for high school students from low socioeconomic backgrounds to shift their attitudes towards STEM.
Associate Professor Walayat Hussain, Dr Mehdi Rajaeian, and Dr Mahmoud Bekhit hosted the free workshop in July at ACU Blacktown Campus, offering free coaching in robotic coding to 43 teenagers from Western Sydney.
Funded by a $91,869 Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) grant, the participating students received a free Sphero RVR+ programmable robot car and an iPad, worth $1100 in total, to encourage them to continue developing their coding skills at home.
Socioeconomic status is considered the biggest barrier to STEM participation. People from low socioeconomic backgrounds continue to be underrepresented in STEM education and careers due to limited access, lower confidence, and fewer resources.
The 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) confirmed STEM equity remains a challenge, with Australian students in more affluent schools achieving on average higher scores in mathematics and science.
Patrician Brothers College, Blacktown Year 10 student Joshua Cheetley said he has always been curious about technology, but the hands-on experience gave him a greater insight into the potential of STEM.
"I've always been curious about a future in STEM," Joshua said.
"This course was a gateway to having more experience and knowledge."
Associate Professor Hussain, former Head of ACU's Information Technology and Systems discipline and the project's lead, said motivating underrepresented groups, especially girls and young women, towards STEM was a challenge across the technology sector.
"Despite being university academics, we knew that underrepresented groups were not going to engage in STEM by coming to a lecture," Associate Professor Hussain said.
"Instead, we offered them free coaching, free hardware, and immersed them in structured game-based workshops to show that coding can be fun and accessible.
"Our hope is the students will feel more confident in their abilities to learn STEM and possibly seek out a career in STEM."
Information Technology lecturer Dr Rajaeian said the event offered young people more than a fun school holiday program.
"We're not just coding robots — we're coding possibility," Dr Rajaeian said.
"We wanted to give these students a vision for their future. With the right tools and support, we believe we can break the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage."
Dr Rajaeian said hands-on experience was a proven and effective way to shift young people's attitudes towards STEM.
"You can teach coding in so many different ways, but hands-on robot coding experiences are the most tangible because interacting with the device, seeing it move, spin or change light, means you actually see the result in real life," Dr Rajaeian said.
Dr Bekhit said early exposure to robotics and coding could shape how students from underrepresented backgrounds viewed their future.
"When students have access to high-quality tools and guided learning experiences, it can transform their sense of what's possible," Dr Bekhit said.
"Many of these students have never had the chance to engage with this kind of technology before. Our goal is not just to teach them coding, but to help them build confidence, curiosity, and a vision for a future in STEM."
