Nisti brings robotics to the School for the Exceptional Child |02 March 2020
For the past year the National Institute for Science, Technology and Innovation (Nisti) has been going from school to school all over Mahé teaching students about the importance of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics programme, and the School for the Exceptional Child is no exception.
Last Thursday morning, Nisti delighted the students of the School for the Exceptional Child with a special presentation.
The focal point of the activity that caught the attention of all students were the three robots that team Seychelles have used in their past Robotics competition in 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively, and as an added bonus the students who were part of team Seychelles from those three years were also present to give a demonstration of their robots as well as share their experiences through a video presentation.
Xavier Estico, chief executive of Nisti, noted that the main aim of their visit was to educate students on the importance of technology and innovation.
“We have already been to several state and private schools and we could not leave the School for the Exceptional Child behind,” said Mr Estico.
He added that the students showed great interest in the presentation and by the end of it they had many questions.
“The question and answer part of the presentation showed that they are capable of understanding science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM),” said CEO Estico.
He went on to add that people who are innovative need to be put in an environment where they will thrive and this is what Nisti is doing as many of these students have the capacity to do well.
Mr Estico noted that Nisti is in the process of introducing the STEM programme for special needs students at the North East Point centre, and train them in that program so that one of them may join team Seychelles in their next competition in a few years.
On her part the head teacher of the school noted that the students were very excited to be learning about robotics.
The accompanying photos show an enthusiastic group of pupils at the school enjoying the presentations.
Christophe Zialor
Photos by Joena Meme
