Creolabs, a start-up company operating at the Microsoft Innovation Centre, will this month kick off a course on Internet of Things (IoT) with Form 2 students at Mater Boni Consilii St Joseph's school in Paola. This course is being supported by Microsoft who is supplying all the technical equipment and support for this course.
Joseph Woods, co-founder of Creolabs explained how the Internet of Things is an emerging paradigm in ICT. "At Creolabs, our mission is to inspire children and youth to generate a passion for creative thinking, invention and innovation. We are slowly bringing a silent revolution in the way children ought to be educated. Through Creolabs' taster programme, we have already exposed around 350 school children to the skills of the 21st century and more than 80 children have already attended courses at the School of Invention," said Mr Woods.
This course is Creolabs' second collaboration with Mater Boni Consilii St Joseph school of Paola. In October of last year, a class from Mater Boni Consilii school had attended a Creolabs class every Friday during which 32 students in grades 3 and 4 had two sessions of 1.5 hours each. During these sessions students were taught creative thinking, personal development and communication. Creolabs plans to continue this programme during this year.
Dr Kenneth Vella, head of Mater Boni Consilii St Joseph School in Paola explained how being receptive to such initiatives add value to the the students' education experience.
"We have already had the privilege of working and collaborating with Microsoft during the pilot project on the use of tablets and now we are very delighted to host Creolabs, a Microsoft Innovation Centre start-up in its delivery of these new education courses to our students. We are also offering our students and members of staff the opportunity to do a number of lessons interactively through these educational tablets provided to us by Microsoft."
"We believe in alternative education that opens our students to today's technology and tomorrow's opportunities. In fact, although these courses are not free of charge, we managed to subsidise and finance them through the support of parents and the Sister's community. As education leaders, we believe that it is our duty to offer such opportunities to our students and as a country we should do our utmost to help our students to develop their potential in creative thinking," said Dr Vella.
Edward Portelli from Microsoft's Innovation Centre noted his satisfaction that one of the MIC's start-ups is now in a position to assist and help local students enjoy a significant and innovative education experience.
"The Microsoft Innovation Centre is another important investment by Microsoft in Malta and its important and crucial IT eco-system. We look at Creolabs and their important work with pride and at Microsoft, we commit to keep supporting Maltese entrepreneurs achieve their full potential," said Mr Portelli.
What is the Internet of Things (IoT) ?
The Internet of Things refers to the concept that the Internet will no longer be just a global network of people who communicate with one another using computers but will also be a platform for devices to communicate electronically with the world around them. By 2020 the Internet is projected to have 50 billion connections. The IoT is being called the fourth Industrial Revolution.