In order to make robotics and computer science more accessible to young Macedonians, as well as to contribute to their development, the Macedonian American Friendship Association (MAFA) has partnered up with the Association for Technical and Technological Education (ATTE) - Bitola to start building the foundation with the first educational summer program for children of age 10–16 in Macedonia.
 
The aims are to develop their awareness of the capabilities of robotics technology, to prepare them for life after school and careers in science, technology and engineering, and to create future potential leaders in the areas of robotics and computer science.

Through games, friendship, critical thinking, education, teamwork and other activities, the youth will be faced with practical application of computer science and robotics, as well as solving problems in everyday life.

The educational program would foster multi-ethnic and multi-national understanding, cooperation and teamwork through exploration of science and technology, much needed in the Balkans.

If you would like to make a difference and support the program, online donations can be made by just clicking on the Donate left-hand side.  Make sure to specify the project name "Roboteka". Thank you and please tell your friends!

The main objective of the project is to contribute towards the development of computer science and robotics in a developing country/region and to evaluate the effect of robotics programming and the impact of human-robot interaction. The participants, students and teachers alike, will have direct and practical involvement in the creation of a robot system. They will form the future teaching personnel and leaders for robotics and computer science, which currently do not exist in most developing countries. Specifically the deliverables are:

• Contribution towards the development of computer science and robotics in Macedonia and the region.
• Developing awareness for robotics technology capabilities and creating future potential leaders in the area of robotics and computer science.
• Establishing partnerships with educational institutions throughout Macedonia and the region.
• Increased understanding and confidence in using robotics, computer science and technology
• Innovative skills will increase with direct exposure to design and creation of robots.
• Increased problem solving skills as a result of direct human-robot interaction.
• Challenge competitions and practical work will improve participants' critical thinking skills.

ATTE has established initial cooperation with USAID, George Washington University, Tufts University, University of Illinois at Springfield and collaboration partnerships with many NGOs in Macedonia and the USA. We plan to involve international engineering students to participate in program as educators to inspire and motivate the youth in Macedonia and other developing countries.

For the duration of the project there will be assessment survey analysis daily and weekly to evaluate the progress of the project and lessons learned for next time. Also, in order not to repeat mistakes we have followed through with GWU and Tufts University's Center for Engineering Educational Outreach to better approach the teachers and students.