In 2022, the programme Educate in STEM was launched in Getafe, Mollet del Vallès, Dos Hermanas, and Murcia, in the schools of the communities where our employees live and work. In 2023, it was extended to schools in O Porriño, Trapagarán, Valladolid, Castelló de la Plana, and Zaragoza.
Our relationship with Forma Roboti-k began in 2018 when they trained young students in coding and robotics during visits to our operations facilities in San Fernando de Henares in Madrid.
“We’re committed to supporting new generations for fairer access to education, particularly in terms of digital skills, which are at the core of our business,” said Rossella Ferraro, Corporate Social Responsibility Coordinator for Amazon Operations in Spain. “Children and young people need to be inspired to go further, and this is the aim of Educate in STEM in collaboration with Forma Roboti-k. The goal of the project is to train pre-school and primary students and teachers in STEM subjects, where STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”
“It’s important for younger children to begin familiarising themselves with coding and robotics so that they have a basis for the future,” said Rocío Gálvez, trainer at Forma Roboti-k.
Pedro Martínez, a teacher at CEIP Castàlia in Castelló de la Plana, reflected on the impact of the workshops at his school: “These trainings offer a chance to work on digital skills in a more motivating way.” He explained that the school offered no kind of training in this field until the Forma Roboti-k programme, and that it is now included in its plans thanks to great feedback received from students. “The robotics material that has been provided is amazing and it will help us continue with the project.” The workshops are held using Lego Education Spike Essential for primary education and Bee-bots for pre-school students – with all the material donated to the schools by Amazon.
The excitement of the students at the Castàlia school is palpable: “What I liked the most was to see the end result when we finished programming,” said student León Prieto, with fellow student Sara Ouichen adding: “In our group, we created a swing that we could activate using a tablet”.
The involvement of Amazon employees
The initiative also relies on the voluntary work of Amazon employees. Rodrigo Martí, IT manager at our Castelló de la Plana fulfilment centre, said that today’s younger generation grows up with technology, but “are still curious about cloud computing.”
“This year, as part of the Educate in STEM programme, in addition to the workshops, we have included the donation of school materials packed by volunteers from Amazon,” said Rossella Ferraro.
Yusmeily Lastra works at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Onda, and she has joined the packing activity of the school kits. “Being part of this initiative is a way to be closer to the people around us. We are all one family, and we have to support each other,” she said.
At the end of the campaign, among all the communities where the workshops have been held and school materials donated, over 3,700 students were reached.
