Programmers of tomorrow: EMSB students get hands-on robotics, AI training

TheEnglish Montreal School Boardis launching five different programs to integrate robotics and artificial intelligence into the regular school curriculum.

The initiative ispart of an effort to attract new students, by offering them a chance toworkwith AI and technology from a young age.

Children in kindergarten are even learning how to code and work with robotsat Merton Elementary School in Cte Saint-Luc.

"Parents have choices to come to us, so we are competitive," said EMSB'schair, Angela Mancini."We have to remain competitive and show why would you choose us over the French counterparts."

Twelve-year-old Raphael Sutherland-Ortega has been working with robots since fourth grade.

He and his classmates at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary School are buildinga robot that can play piano.

"Robots are the future," saidSutherland-Ortega.

The EMSB believes robots and artificial intelligence will not only give its students a leg up on mastering future technologybut will make overall learning more fun and will motivate students to graduate.

"They're very quick at learning how sound works, how to put things together, how to get the application to do what they want," saidDebbie Adams, a science, technology and robotics teacher at Merton.

• Meet the interactive robot making a mark on Quebec's classrooms

The announcement of the new EMSBprogramscomes at a time when parents are thinking aboutschool registration, and many ofthe province's French-languageschoolsare bursting at the seams.

• Faced with overcrowding, French school board looks to English counterpart for help

The EMSB isn't the only board using robotics to attract parents, however; some of the French boards have already been doing it.

It's becoming increasingly popular tobringrobots and AI into the classroom, as educators try to equip the next generation with skills that will be increasingly in demand a decade from now.