The VU University of Amsterdam was founded in 1880 and ever since its foundation; the institution has been focusing on deepening knowledge. The university’s students and researchers are involved in multiple mechatronics and robotics projects that aim at defining new types of future possibilities.
The university isn’t only involved in projects, but it is also investing in future research and future researchers. The VU University is part of the RoboCup junior as well as RoboDidactics. The latter is an international project to get younger people interested in science again, after seeing a significant fall in children opting for science-based courses in universities. This has resulted in a shortage of skilled workers in the European Union. The idea is to introduce robotics to children at an early age to pique their interests.
The goal could be achieved by partnering with schools and large companies that can benefit from a more available work force in the future. The RoboCup Junior fits perfectly in this development. This Cup is an annual robot event where children between the ages of 9 and 19 can enter fun and interesting competitions with their own robots. Several European universities, and as such the VU, provide these children with the opportunities to use their equipment and expertise. In the long term, this will make more children choose the science side of education.
