The role of universities is to transform students into confident graduates that can contribute to the profession and the society. Students gain knowledge and skills as they participate in challenging and engaging learning activities (DVS et al., 2013). Robotics is very popular hobby among engineering-inclined young people. Today it is possible to build simple yet interesting robots investing little money or technical resources. Furthermore, Robotics as a hobby offers opportunities to develop skills and abilities desired in all Engineering Graduates (Anderson, 2012). This paper will describe the history and operation of the Curtin Robotics Club. The club was established in 2009 as a space where students could learn and teach about robotics as an extracurricular activity. The philosophy of the club is that experienced students mentor new members. The main purpose of the club is to provide opportunities to students for learning and teaching outside of the academic stream. From a pedagogical point of view the club is not about the robots, it is about the learning. In the club students develop technical and professional skills. For example: Leadership, time management, project management, planning, teamwork, communication, logistics, sustainable design, and ethical behaviour. And what is fascinating is that they learn all of these without noticing, because they have so much fun in the process. The club is open to all Curtin students and although the majority of members are student engineers, students from the School of Business and the Department of Mathematics have also participated. One aspect that is encouraged in the club is the interaction with other faculties. A fine example was the collaboration between a fashion student and one member of the Robotics Club. They put together a remote-controlled dress. The fashion student participated in a National Fashion Show in and the dress was very well received. Another example of collaboration happened with the Department of Physiotherapy. One member of the robotics club designed a controller for a set of electronic eyeglasses used in research. These interactions show that the club provides visibility for the work that engineering students can do. Students gain a lot of confidence from these interactions. Another aspect of the club is its participation in internal and external events. Members of the club have represented Curtin at events organised by the local Science Museum (Sci-Tech), career fairs, Open Days, Curtin Robotics Fair and high-school visits. Club members have also represented Curtin in national and international competitions, bringing prizes on a couple of occasions. Currently the club has 40 members. They have a committee that organises social events and competitions. Past members have fond memories of the club and are happy to participate in activities when invited. Reference Anderson N. (2012). Achieving higher education graduate attributes in the area of creativity, innovation and problem solving through the use of design thinking. Paper presented at QS Apple Conference 2011. Manila, Philippines. DVS C., Teo C., Acosta C. et al. (2013). Improving Student Learning Through Project-Based Integrated Teaching of Robotics. Paper presented at the 9th CDIO Conference 2013. Cambridge, USA.
Proceedings of the 10th International CDIO Conference, Barcelona, Spain, June 15-19 2014
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