Gestamp Foundation and ASTI Foundation are joining forces again this academic year for the second edition of Ruralbotic, an educational program that enables primary school children studying in rural schools to take their first steps in technology and begin to acquire, at an early age, the skills they will need in their academic and professional future.

Ruralbotic is an educational program implemented in the classroom. Over several months, children work with robotics kits provided by the program, where they are introduced, in a playful way, to subjects of the future such as computational thinking, programming, and robotics, while developing key skills such as teamwork and creativity.

This year, 210 students and 18 teachers from six schools in the area surrounding the Gestamp Palencia plant in Dueñas are participating, including schools in both the provinces of Palencia and Valladolid. In Palencia, the CEIP Reyes Católicos (Dueñas), the Colegio Público del Cerrato (Tariego de Cerrato), and the CRA Campos de Castilla (Becerril de Campos) are participating in the initiative, and in Valladolid, CRA Florida del Duero (Castronuño), La Esgueva (Esguevillas de Esgueva) and Campos Góticos (Medina de Rioseco).

Last year, Ruralbotic collaborated with more than 200 students from the area around Rabé de las Calzadas (Burgos), the birthplace of the company’s founder, Francisco Riberas Pampliega.

Throughout the course, students must overcome various challenges and prepare to show everything they have learned in a final tournament that will take place on May 12. During this event, they will solve challenges in a healthy competitive environment with classmates from other schools participating in the initiative.

The students have worked in the classroom with their accompanying kits, after their teachers received training at the beginning of the year. In addition to classroom activities, the children will complete the program with a visit to the Gestamp Palencia facilities, where they will discover how robotics and technology are applied in an industrial plant.

The general director of the Gestamp Foundation, Mónica Riberas, states: “Promoting initiatives such as Ruralbotic, which encourage STEM vocations through robotics and technology from an early age, is essential for generating opportunities in rural areas. Furthermore, giving children the opportunity to see how the Gestamp Palencia plant operates allows them to understand how robotics is actually applied in industry and awakens their interest in these areas.”

For Rubén Martínez, executive director of the ASTI Foundation: “This initiative exemplifies our commitment to forging ties and involving all those who, like the Gestamp Foundation, believe that the future depends on our ability to generate STEM talent and that in this work we cannot leave anyone behind, regardless of their zip code.”