As we progress further into the 21st century, it’s clear to both teachers and parents that students are growing up in a world that will require more and different skills, knowledge and expertise to be successful, effective citizens and workers.

While core subjects like math, science, geography, history and art will still play a role, students will also need to become competent in interdisciplinary themes (eg environmental literacy and global awareness), as well as life and career skills such as leadership, critical thinking, problem solving and cross-cultural communication.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21, www.p21.org) was founded in 2002 as a coalition between the business community, education leaders and policymakers to introduce 21st century readiness into the US K-12 curriculum. By providing resources for educators and the community, in addition to engaging in education advocacy, P21 is leveraging the strength of its member organisations (which include Apple, Microsoft Corporation, Intel Corporation and the Walt Disney Company) to develop and implement a comprehensive framework for learning that will produce students better prepared to engage in today’s global society.

As a US institution based in Bermuda, as well as a Bermuda Registered Charity, the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) sees the value in such efforts and understands its responsibility to use its own scientific knowledge and resources to benefit Bermuda’s school children and prepare them, as well, for the 21st century.

With this in mind, BIOS is working with the Ministry of Education to develop a multi-year underwater robotics design and engineering programme that will support and enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, while also developing critical thinking skills, individual and group problem solving skills and mastery of new technologies. The proposed programme will focus on remotely operated vehicles (or ROVs), which are currently being utilised in a variety of marine industry and scientific research programmes around the globe. BIOS plans to increase its use of underwater robots — including ROVs and gliders — over the next few years in its ongoing efforts to study and understand the ocean and its complex processes.

This offers a unique opportunity for Bermuda’s students and teachers to learn about exciting new technologies as they are being applied to real, locally relevant scientific endeavours. The underwater robotics programme will provide teachers with a hands-on educational tool that can be incorporated into existing science and technology curricula, helping to teach many of the concepts required by learning standards.

BIOS hopes the programme will also help expose students to possible careers in marine science and engineering or, at very least, inspire them to take what they learn to the next level — be that in the form of advanced studies, participation in a new school club or even signing up for BIOS’s summer Ocean Academy programmes.

BIOS is eager to launch the robotics programme and engage students, teachers and the community in what it hopes will be an annual event that draws together Government schools, private schools, youth groups, afterschool clubs and even local environmental and technology organisations. With support from the Ministry of Education, BIOS can help carry on Bermuda’s long legacy of ocean exploration and discovery.

To stay up to date with BIOS news and events, please visit and bookmark the BIOS website (www.bios.edu) or sign up to receive our free monthly newsletter, Currents, that will provide you with insight into ongoing research and education programmes.