What is the name of your organization?
JEFA Education
What is the name of your solution?
CuBot EVO
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
A comprehensive package for South African schools to successfully equip educators and learners in Coding & Robotics, with local training and support.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Johannesburg, South Africa
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
South Africa
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
Last year, South Africa implemented Coding and Robotics as part of the national school curriculum. However, many schools are not ready or equipped to implement these changes. They do not know where to start in terms of implementing Coding & Robotics curriculum and need support, training and guidance on hardware and software. In addition, Coding and Robotics is an expensive subject to implement and many schools do not have funding. Many of the schools which have implemented Coding & Robotics need ongoing support and input on how best to utilize their existing resources, as well as how to invest in new and effective solutions. South Africa has over 24 000 schools (equating to roughly 13.4 million learners), and up to now has only implemented Coding & Robotics in about 10% of the country's schools. Looking to the future, Coding & Robotics skills are an integral part of the 21st century and South Africa has a responsibility to equip the next generation of learners in these fields.
What is your solution?
Our solution is to create a comprehensive package for schools to implement Coding & Robotics. This package includes the hardware - our CuBot EVO (This robot has been locally designed and manufactured by our company in South Africa and includes local support. It is powered by an ESP32 microcontroller, and includes a wide variety of Arduino sensors and peripherals), the software (Code Kit, which transitions between block and text-based coding) used to code the CuBot EVO, local teacher training and support, and curriculum. We have developed local teacher training and ongoing support to equip and motivate teachers who have no prior training or experience in Coding and Robotics. The national School Curriculum shows guidelines on what to implement, but we are busy compiling this into user friendly textbooks and teacher guides for seamless implementation. We have tried to keep the price as affordable as possible, while still creating a quality package. Product demo video: https://vimeo.com/1076315583?share=copy
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our goal is to reach as many educators as possible (and through them as many learners as possible) in both government and independent schools, with a comprehensive and affordable package that will set schools up to successfully and confidently implement Coding & Robotics in South Africa. We want learners to experience Coding & Robotics not just theoretically in a textbook, but also practically through hands-on learning experiences as they operate our CuBot EVO robot. Coding & Robotics teaches learners many skills needed for the fast-paced, ever-changing 21st century, and we want to assist in not only igniting a passion for learning but also to set learners up for future success. More than 60% of South African schools lack the necessary resources required for subjects like Coding and Robotics and many others have invested in unsupported resources. Most teachers are not trained and are ill-equipped to teach Coding & Robotics as a subject, leaving them feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. Although the South African Department of Education is piloting Coding & Robotics in about 2000 schools, the roll-out and implementation is very slow.
