About the Indiana State Robotics Initiative

History

The City of Indianapolis VEX Robotics Championship (IndyVRC) was created in 2012 by then-Mayor Greg Ballard with the goal of providing an opportunity for all Indianapolis high school students to participate in a world class robotics event. As the leader in STEM education efforts for the state of Indiana since 2001, TechPoint Foundation for Youth (TPF4Y) was invited by Mayor Ballard to serve as the lead partner of the IndyVRC. Initially, the program served 38 high schools around the city, later adding both a middle school and an elementary school division to the comprehensive grant program. By 2016, the IndyVRC had awarded more than 180 grants, impacting nearly 3,000 students and raising nearly $170,000 annually to support the program and city competition.

The success of the original IndyVRC model followed by the Hogsett administration’s support of the program encouraged TPF4Y and the IndyVRC Advisory Board to think bigger - much bigger. Together with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, Project Lead The Way, REC Foundation, and VEX Robotics, TPF4Y was charged to lead a statewide expansion of the program known today as the State Robotics Initiative (SRI).

impact

Since expanding the IndyVRC city competition to a statewide model in 2016, Indiana has experienced a tremendous increase in the number of competing VEX Robotics teams and is now a national leader in STEM education efforts.

As of February 2021:

• over $600,000 in grant dollars has been awarded to Indiana robotics teams

• the number of Indiana VEX IQ teams has increased from 196 to 2,114 (↑978%), engaging over 23,000 Hoosier students

• Indiana has more robotics teams than any other state in the nation!

A big thank you to the schools and teachers who have helped make all of this possible for Indiana students!

Research

The SRI program began a comprehensive evaluation process in 2016. Elementary robotics students in their first year of the program were asked to participate in a pre- and post-survey to measure the impact of the program. Student results from the 2016-17 season have shown significant impact in those who:

• plan to attend college

• plan to take math and science courses in future years of school

• expect to do well in science classes

• are more acquainted with a scientist and/or mathematician

• are more competent with robots and computer programming

Students also reported an increase in their ability to:

• work with other students different from oneself

• excel in English/Language Arts and Math classes

Moving forward