Nordic students bring their robotics ideas to Reykjavik University 

On Thursday 29 October, students aged 12–15 from Finland, Denmark and Iceland visited Reykjavik University, together with their STEM / STEAM teachers.

The visit was part of Shared Future: Nordic Tech Pedagogy, a Nordplus Junior project. The group was hosted by Sinéad McCarron, Project Manager and Team Lead at Skema.

Students from Landakotsskóli, Odinskolen in Odense, Denmark, and Pohjolanrinteen koulu in Riihimäki, Finland, spent the day exploring robotics at HR and presenting their own innovation projects.

A look inside RU's mechatronics department 

The day began in RU's mechatronics department. The students met Hannes Páll Þórðarson, Electronics Workshop Supervisor; Marcel Kyas, Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science; and Ásdís Erla Erlingsdóttir, a master's student in Electric Power Engineering. Together they showed the group how robotics is taught and researched at university level. 

A highlight was the robotic dog, which Torfi Þórhallsson, Assistant Professor at the Department of Engineering, kindly let the group see in action. 

The group also met RU students working on their own robot designs. Some showed how they prepared a robot to be competition-ready, and the visitors saw the fabrication processes used in the studio to take a design from idea to working machine.

Student prototypes on biodiversity 

Later in the day, the students worked in small groups to present their research and rapid prototypes to Sinéad, Hannes and Marcel, who gave each group constructive feedback. These are the innovation projects they will enter into robotics competitions in their home countries this season. 

The theme was biodiversity. Each team narrowed the theme down to a specific problem they wanted to solve. They approached their topics with empathy and maturity and showed a clear understanding of the design and scientific processes behind innovation.

Skema coaches in your school: a simulator workshop at Landakotsskóli 

On Wednesday 28 October, a Skema coach visited Landakotsskóli to run a workshop for the students. They learned to program and test their robot designs in a simulator before building them.

The simulator shows their builds moving in real time, so students learn about physics at work and can see how their designs would behave in the real world. The workshop was part of a hringekja, a rotation of sessions led by Landakotsskóli teachers.

Looking ahead 

This was the group’s second visit to RU. Earlier, teachers and school leaders from the partner schools met Sinéad and Hannes to plan the student trip and discuss the future of robotics education in Iceland at leikskóli, grunnskóli and framhaldsskóli levels. 

Skema is invested in continuing this collaboration with Reetta Viitanen, Kasper Fallesen and the partner schools. Alongside its well-known programming courses, Skema is committed to the future of robotics, STEM education, AI and machine learning for young people in Iceland. 

Schools interested in this project, teacher training or Val electives can contact Sinéad at sineadm@ru.is. 

Skema can also provide coaches for schools running their own grant-funded projects, such as Nordplus or Erasmus+.

About Shared Future: Nordic Tech Pedagogy

Shared Future: Nordic Tech Pedagogy is a Nordplus Junior project running from 2025 to 2027. It brings together Pohjolanrinteen koulu in Riihimäki, Finland; Odinskolen in Odense, Denmark; and Landakotsskóli in Reykjavík, Iceland. The project focuses on sharing technology and robotics teaching practices across Nordic schools. 

The project is coordinated through Riihimäki Robotics Campus by Reetta Viitanen, Robotics Education Senior Adviser. Kasper Fallesen, robotics and technology advisor at Odinskolen, organises the Danish partnership. Sinéad McCarron organised the Icelandic partnership at Landakotsskóli and continues the collaboration through Skema.