Right: Second level students who competed in the regional finals at Tipperary Institute on 13 January.

The competition is organised by the ICT department at Tipperary Institute and is supported by Google and Lenovo. The only one of its kind in Ireland, it encourages participants to develop new IT skills while improving their understanding of important mathematical principles.

Speaking at the regional finals in Tipperary Institute on January 13, Dr Liam Noonan said that students could improve their maths results by applying theory from text books to fun projects like game programming.  “ICT is a key sector in the Irish economy and Ireland is recognised worldwide as an ideal environment for nurturing, developing and expanding ICT operations,” said Dr Noonan.

“To maintain this sustainable sector, which is all the more essential in these difficult times, Ireland needs a steady supply of high calibre graduates. With findings indicating a 56% shortfall in the number of students taking up places on third level IT courses and a marked decline in second level maths grades, supply is being threatened and a creative approach to redress this and engage students early is needed. 

“One of the most practical ways to address the graduate shortage in the technology sector in Ireland is to introduce ICT at second level. Mathematics is central to a range of applications - like computer game programming - and teaching ICT can, therefore, benefit the study of maths, enhancing student interest in the subject and ultimately leading to better exam results and increased graduate numbers.  

“The whole purpose of SchoolBots is to introduce IT into the classroom in a fun and imaginative way that will also help to discover and nurture new talent,” commented Eoghan Nolan, Engineering Manager, Google.

Innovation is at the heart of Google’s success and our people are fundamental to this. It is incredibly important to us as an employer and for the future economic success of Ireland, that our education system creates a pool of world-class IT graduates who can think creatively.  

“Initiatives such as SchoolBots are key in developing an understanding among students of how mathematics applies in the real world, and also in helping students develop their innovative thinking powers. 

”We are delighted to support Tipperary Institute with this project and we look forward to hosting the winning students at Google in Dublin next year.”

SchoolBots uses Java to program robot tanks for battle against each other. The virtual tanks need to be smart enough to hit and avoid being hit and to move around without any kind of manual control. 

Eight teams have now been selected to compete against each other in the national final on March 12. Prizes for the winning team include a Lenovo laptop for the winning school and mp3 players for the finalists and runners up. In addition, the winning team and 15 classmates will visit Google’s European headquarters in Dublin and have a tour of its facilities.  

The SchoolBots competition is now in its third year. Last year’s winner was Cashel Community College school, and the inaugural winner was the all-girls Our Lady’s Bower Athlone.  

Further information can be obtained by visiting www.schoolbots.ie or emailing the competition organisers at schoolbots@tippinst.ie.