The following was written by Nathaniel Sobin, a grants and STEM programming coordinator, and a DoD STEM Ambassador. DoD STEM Ambassadors work with the Defense STEM Education Consortium (DSEC) to advance STEM outreach for students who are underrepresented in STEM or military connected. Sobin was selected by RoboNation, a DSEC Partner, as its DoD STEM ambassador for the 2022-2023 school year.

Robotics, robotics, robotics—it seems to be everywhere all at once! Robotics technology is having a moment, and it seemingly affects our daily lives in almost every way—whether directly or indirectly. The education industry has embraced the need for robotics education at all grade levels, with robotics competitions frequently serving as an introduction. Competitions involving wheeled vehicles, drones, boats, and submarines are used to show students how fun computer science and STEM activities can be. Notably, students who participate in robotics programs are much more likely to participate in STEM careers. Educators have also embraced industry credentials to assess baseline knowledge. Credentials offer employers, industry professionals, and education institutions the means to show exactly what a student knows, more than transcripts or standardized test scores.

Currently there are a few credentials addressing skills with specific robotic equipment, but no credentials exist for competition robotics. We’re here to change that by offering opportunities to the millions of students who are learning critical STEM skills by participating in robotics competitions, with the goal of defining these competitions as gateways to exciting and important careers in STEM fields.

Industry credentials cover a wide variety of skills and trades, from hair stylist to auto mechanic to cybersecurity analyst. In nearly every school district in the United States, students can obtain a state-adopted industry credential to prove their knowledge in a specific trade area, thereby making them more attractive to potential employers and more career ready upon graduation. While some fields have myriad options (e.g., computer science), other fields remain less populated and distinct (e.g., STEM). Current STEM and computer science industry credentials are not applicable to what students learn in competitive robotics. This is a huge missed opportunity.

In competition robotics (see callout definition above for robotics), students are introduced to numerous STEM- and computer science–related skills. They develop unique knowledge related to the robotics modality (e.g., land- vs. air- vs. sea-based robotics); the art and science of coding and hardware development; plus a rich and diverse set of technical and soft skills covering teamwork, technical documentation, and communication. In competition robotics, student ability in each area is not only measured but also judged against those of their peers. Why not give students an obvious additional opportunity to prove their skills through an entry-level, multimodal industry certification that offers a pathway into internships, programs, and STEM careers with industry or DoD?

A program or industry certification in competition robotics needs to be strategic. While there are numerous robotics modalities and competitions out there, this certification should be platform and program agnostic and should:

• include multiple coding languages and robotics modalities,
• include all major and minor robotics programs in the STEMosphere,
• cover documentation and soft skills included in these programs,
• be housed by an agency that can adequately and durably support many programs as they evolve, and
• serve as a pipeline of young talent into the many private and public STEM programs that are working so diligently to source this talent.

Let me offer you an analogy that I call the rental car theory: We learn to drive cars of many different shapes, sizes, features, and intended functions. All cars have common themes and functions (e.g., the steering wheel and the brake/gas pedal). Nearly all of us can quickly and successfully drive an unfamiliar rental car containing these common features. This is the rental car theory. Robotics is the same idea. The workflow is the same for wheeled or treaded robots, submarines, boats, or drones; it includes design and contest parameters, initial designs, iterative development, documentation, and presentation. An inclusive, generalized, entry-level robotics certification should follow the rental car theory.

In summary, the revolution of implementing competitive robotics into STEM curriculum and after-school opportunities has proven to be a major success. The next obvious step is to harness the experience and knowledge gained into a universal entry-level robotics credential that helps students find the next steps in their STEM pathway, and helps agencies and companies identify these skillsets among qualified students. Let’s create and promote this credential to bridge the gap between STEM students and industry.