During July, the Cobot Maker Space (CMS) played host to 21 students from local secondary schools on sample summer work placements as part of the University of Nottingham Faculty of Science’s summer work experience scheme. Students were placed in the CMS for half a day to get a feel of what type of work we undertake and the career options that are available in such a lab. We ran a LEGO MindStorm building activity with them, which reflects some of the prototyping work that we do as researchers, as well as an activity that undergraduate students will usually undertake whilst studying robotics.

All the students did exceedingly well at this task, especially considering that it would usually be performed by an older age group with more experience and more time. The students also visited other departments in the Faculty of Science during their week at the University. At the end of the week they were asked to give short presentations about something that had particularly engaged their interest. It was gratifying to see several of the students talk about robotics, and especially assistive robotics.