Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will host a training day on Thursday 21 February for high and primary school teachers and pupils from across the Riverina to help them prepare to compete for the first time in the regional 2013 RoboCup Junior Challenge to be staged at the University in mid-June. RoboCup Junior Challenge coordinator, Mr Allen Benter, a PhD student and researcher at the CSU Centre for Research in Complex Systems (http://charybdis.mit.csu.edu.au/crics/ ) (CRiCS) in Bathurst, said RoboCup Junior Australia is a project-oriented educational initiative that supports local, regional and international robotic events for school students. “The focus of RoboCup Junior is the development of cooperative teamwork and technical skills in an environment of participation, fun and excitement. Teams choose to take up the challenge at their own skill and interest level. RoboCup Junior offers three distinct robotic building challenges - Dance, Rescue, and Soccer. The workshop from 9am to 3pm will assist teachers and students through the process of constructing and programming a robot using Lego to compete in one of three events at the competition in June. The winners of the regional competition will then advance to the state competition.”