Building the future Rural teacher develops robotics course; hopes for provincewide expansion Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
By: Maggie Macintosh Posted: 6:25 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025

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Unlike other provinces, Manitoba does not have a standardized robotics curriculum or credit — but one rural technology teacher is trying to change that.

JP Jamieson is raising awareness about a one-of-a-kind program at Morris School in the hopes that one day, his students will not have to leave the province to enter their robots in a contest and hone their engineering skills.

The kindergarten-to-Grade 12 school’s two robotics teams will travel to Minnesota this weekend for a VEX V5 competition. The event will be a first for many of the students who are enrolled in grades 8 to 11.

“They have to figure out it’s not a one-person show. They have to work together to make a better robot,” Jamieson said, referring to both his teams’ players and the students enrolled in his homemade high school course on the subject.

The technology teacher describes robotics as “an incredible learning unit,” composed of coding, driving and other STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) lessons.

Not only must they learn how to build a robot, but they have to brainstorm innovative ideas to improve its performance, communicate their ideas to teammates and convince others to get on board, he noted.

Jamieson’s interest in robotics as an educational tool dates back to the roughly dozen years he spent delivering Canadian curriculum overseas. He has taught at accredited schools in Beijing and Tokyo, where robotics has become a common extracurricular.

Upon returning to his home province in 2020, he recalled being surprised to learn about its small robotics community and limited options for student participation.

The volunteer-run Manitoba Robot Games attracts robotics enthusiasts to challenge one another’s creations at Technical Vocational High School’s “field house” in Winnipeg every year.

As far as Jamieson is concerned, there’s room for those school-based programs — which are affordable to start up, with build-it-yourself robot kits ranging between $25 and $50 — and VEX teams.

The latter requires a larger investment, with a $1,600 starter set that forces students to code complex sensors so their creations can complete a range of tasks. In comparison, the Manitoba Robot Games revolves around building a small machine that can push a competitor’s design out of a circular ring.

“Seeing how far we’ve come, from having a basic robot to having an absolute beast of a robot competing against some of the best teams of the world… It’s very (empowering),” said Andrew Hildebrandt, a Grade 9 student at Morris School.

The 14-year-old transferred schools this year to participate in Manitoba’s only formal VEX program and he stands by the decision.

His team’s robot — the latest iteration of which weighs 10 pounds — has been entered into three international competitions since the 2024-25 school year began.

“When you walk into a tech lab or robotics lab, there’s a buzz in the air”–Teacher JP Jamieson

They have secured two awards and are vying for more as they face off against peers on their school’s new second team, as well as others from classrooms across the U.S.

Grade 10 competitor Zajac St. Godard said he was filled with nervous energy ahead of his inaugural international challenge, which begins Friday.

Zajac, 15, joined the extracurricular to learn teamwork skills and expand his knowledge in STEM because he wants to pursue a related career after graduation.

His team uniform is gold Winnipeg Blue Bombers baseball caps. Zajac’s other opponents, including Andrew, don blue caps.

The boys’ coach said their school community is a unique place, given teenagers spend weekends reading about pneumatics — a branch of engineering that explains how pressurized air can power a robot and perform other mechanical work.

“When you walk into a tech lab or robotics lab, there’s a buzz in the air — the students have their heads down, they’re collaborating, they’re showing off what they’ve learned and how excited they are,” Jamieson said.

Morris School has its own “robot battle ring” for its two teams to tweak designs and practise challenges.

Manitoba needs at least 14 more teams to become an official VEX region under the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, a global non-profit dedicated to increasing student engagement in computer science.

The company that builds the educational robotics products, which Jamieson likens to IKEA packages, is headquartered in Texas.

Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said she was keen to explore the possibility of expanding the initiative and creating a provincial curriculum on robotics.

“This is the way of the future. We know that students in our education system are looking for and excited about this type of programming,” Schmidt said, noting the recent creation of the province’s department of innovation and new technology.

The minister applauded Jamieson’s creativity and dedication in getting a first-of-its-kind program up and running.

The technology teacher said he’s optimistic more teams will form in Manitoba.

“I don’t see how it doesn’t take off,” Jamieson said, “but how do we get a curriculum, how do we get a credit and how do we get people to spend the money that’ll pay off (in growing STEM experts and industries down the line)?”

Saskatchewan launched a stand-alone robotics and automation curriculum in 2019.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca