On April 27th, the Latgale Regional Development Agency organized a conference titled “Strengthening STEM and Robotics Skills in Latvia” in online Zoom mode with live streaming on the Facebook platform. The conference was moderated by Juris Erts, a robotics enthusiast and initiator of the movement in Latgale region. In the opening remarks, the Director of the Latgale Regional Development Agency, Māris Bozovičs, provided information on the goals and results achieved in the Latgale region through the implementation of the Robonet project, which included training robotics teachers, developing and distributing robotics training books and instructional videos, purchasing robotics equipment for 9 schools in Latgale, establishing robotics clubs in schools, and providing support for organizing robotics competitions. Recognized experts and enthusiasts in the field of robotics in Latvia gave presentations at the conference. The conference was attended by specialists from planning regions and municipalities, representatives of educational institutions, school management, and teachers from all regions of Latvia – including Latgale, Kurzeme, Riga, Vidzeme, and Zemgale.

Andris Vagalis from the Department of Informatics at Daugavpils University spoke about the importance of robotics in future education and the job market, and learning opportunities in Latvia. In today’s era, which is strongly linked to technology, it is crucial for students to familiarize themselves with robotics and its possibilities. Robotics is not only an exciting and interesting subject, but also a tool that can help students develop essential individual and collective skills and competencies.
Learning robotics helps to develop students knowledge and skills in natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science. It also helps to develop problem-solving skills, creativity, and critical thinking, as well as collaboration and teamwork skills in working on tasks to achieve a common goal.

The conference program included presentations in three blocks:
1) Opportunities for learning robotics, curriculum, and methodology – the director of the Sigulda Technology Education Center, Edgars Bajarūns, gave a report, and experience stories were shared by Ģirts Čamanis, the director of the International Innovation School, and Dāvis Kundziņš, a STEM expert and robotics teacher.

2) In the block of the conference on the development of robotics teachers’ competencies, Karlis Berkholds, a doctoral student at Riga Technical University and leader of the Robotics Club, gave a report, and experience was shared by Ivars Vīksna, a robotics and technical innovation teacher at the Alūksne Children and Youth Center, and Sandijs Krastiņš, a robotics teacher at Salaspils 1st Secondary School.

3) In the robotics competitions block in Latvia and abroad, Anna Skruode, the organizer of the FIRST LEGO League competition, Oskars Java, the director of the Institute of Socio-Technical Systems Engineering at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences and WRO coordinator in Latvia, and Vitolds Bīriņš, the founder of the Robot School, organizer, and supporter of the Latvian Robotics Championship, gave reports.

After each block of presentations, panel discussions were held, which provided an opportunity to ask questions of recognized industry experts, share experiences, and address challenges in robotics education. The information and insights gained from the conference will contribute to the further development of robotics education in Latvia.

The conference was organized by the Latgale Regional Development Agency under the RoboNet project of the LLI-542 “IT programming and robotics competency development in cross-border region schools in Latgale, Visaginas, and Ignalina” with financial support from the Latvia-Lithuania cross-border program.