The Japanese Government to Invest Two Million Dollars into the Creation of Robotics Classes from a Skolkovo Resident

June 04, 2020

ROBBO Japan - a subsidiary of a Skolkovo Foundation resident company “ROBBO” - has been included in the state subsidizing program for EdTech services. The Russian producer of educational robotics will receive financing from the Japanese Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry to open robotics and programming classes in Japanese comprehensive schools.

Since the start of 2020, the concept of STEM-education (Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics) has been implemented in Japan. It involves training in the exact sciences, technologies, and engineering, and programming and robotics have become compulsory subjects in Japanese schools.

State subsidies cover 70% of organizational expenses for the engineering class, while the remaining 30% the company participant invests. In 2020, ROBBO Japan plans to fit the first 200 schools. As a result, the Japanese government subsidies for the project make up two million dollars.

The ROBBO engineering class includes an assortment of hardware and software for teaching robotics, programming, 3D modeling and 3D printing, circuit design, the Internet of Things and “Smart Home.” Coaches from the company will also conduct training for teachers and will provide teaching aids and lesson plans.

Yasuo Ninomiya, the director of business development at ROBBO Japan: “Already this year we are launching a competition in which we choose the first 200 schools for opening ‘ROBBO Classes.’ The advantage of our decision is a complex approach: we not only provide hardware and software, but also the teaching methods under which more than 50,000 children study around the world. We have deeply developed programs, which include lesson plans for each discipline and age group. Apart from that, we train the teachers and provide teaching support.”

Pavel Frolov, the founder of ROBBO: “The education market in Japan is very promising for us. There are about 20,000 primary schools in the country where children attend from the ages of 6 to 12. So far some of them possess the necessary hardware, programs, and educational methods to organize lessons in the engineering disciplines. Our “ROBBO Class” solution is aimed at implementing the concept of STEM-education, which Japanese schools are focusing on.”

Pavel Krivozubov, the head of the Department of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at the Skolkovo Foundation Information Technologies Cluster: “The Skolkovo resident company, ROBBO, is continuing development in the Japanese market, proving that Russian educational robotics holds a leading position in the global arena. In Japan, the home of robots, pupils will learn to invent using Russian technologies and educational methods. This public-private partnership is a good example of mutually beneficial cooperation where the government solves social problems by attracting the skill sets and resources of business.”

ROBBO Class complex solutions were tested in Japanese schools in the middle of 2019 after the company won a competition at the Fukuoka Startup Day. Having received positive results in its pilot projects, the company decided to enter the Japanese market.

The subsidiary, ROBBO Japan, was registered in December 2019. In April 2020, they opened the first robotics clubs in Tokyo and Fukuoka and the classes began in an online format due to restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The ROBBOClub.Ru website became one of the first in Japan to offer remote courses in programming, 3D-modeling and circuit design.

**Additional information

ROBBO - A developer and producer of educational robotics based on free software and hardware. A leadership project of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives. A resident of the Skolkovo Foundation and AO Technopark Saint Petersburg, and a participant in the NTI Circle movement. The company products are developed with the support of the Skolkovo Foundation for promoting innovation. The company has offices in Finland and Japan. ROBBO is helping teach 50,000 kids in 150+ clubs and more than 300 schools in 18 countries across the world: Russia, Finland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Vietnam, China, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Israel, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, and Romania. ROBBO won the Google RISE Awards twice and was also the winner of the Finnish government competition, FinLanding, and the Fukuoka Startup Day in Japan. It was also the winner of the Saint Petersburg government award for the best innovative product and won the title for “Best Social Project-2018.” To sign up for an online trial lesson, you can visit the website: https://robboclub.ru

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