Mylene Abiva is the President & CEO of FELTA Multi-Media Inc., a 56 year old company that introduces innovative instructional materials and educational devices for school technology. FELTA has been the Education Solution Provider of INTEL Education since 2012.

Mylene has a ton of achievements to her name; she is a former President of the Philippine Marketing Association, an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines (Women Entrepreneur) (2009), one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World Awardee (2016) and the list goes on.

Mylene is proud to be the first and only female ambassador for the World Robot Olympiad, otherwise known as the WRO, and has been involved in her fair share of competitive robotics as well. She and her company have been the organizers of the Philippine Robotics Olympiad since 2001, the WRO International Final WRO in 2010 in Manila and the World Robot Olympiad Friendship Invitational 2018 in Cebu. FELTA has also been heavily involved in Robot Virtual Games, an online robotics platform that allows students of any age to compete against each other globally.

Timestamps:

0:46 - Guest Introduction

2:56 - What she's currently working on

4:39- How to innovate a company while staying true to its origins

6:47- Where does 'Champion of the Geeks' come from?

10:32- How parents can support their children

13:25 - How can students take steps to improve their education

15:57 - What will companies need to innovate next?

17:50 - Virtual competitions with Robot Virtual Games

21:10 - Is homeschooling here to stay?

23:27 - Passion versus purpose

25:36 - Traits that allow leaders to succeed in business

28:40 - Thoughts on emerging tech and the future

30:10 - Her message to the world

Get in touch with Mylene:

Mylene's LinkedIn

Mylene's Facebook

Mylene's email

Mylene's TEDx Talk

FELTA's website

Murtaza Sinnarwala is an Apple Education Specialist working in the UAE, though he's worn many hats in the education space throughout his career. After earning a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration in Quality Management, he went on to work as a Quality Engineer at LG Electronics, before later becoming a LEGO Certified Trainer, ATLAB Training Head, and more. In the latter role, he helped the organization to deliver STEM, Robotics and AI Training around the world. Murtaza has been coaching K – University technology and Educators for over 10 years. He is also a passionate advocate for Project Based Learning (PBL) and mental health. What's more, he is a soon-to-be co-author with a book titled 'Amplify Learning', set to launch in 2022.

Murtaza's Twitter - https://twitter.com/MakerMurtaza

Murtaza's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/makermurtaza/

Murtaza's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/makermurtaza/

Murtaza's website - https://ecanmake.org

Adam El Rafey is a super social, 11 year old public speaker, innovator, learning enthusiast and thought leader. He is passionate about reforming the traditional education system, inspiring others to find their voice and to make a difference at any age and strongly believes in decisions being made based on ability and not age.

Adam is one of the youngest TEDx speakers in the world, and has spoken at over 19 major conferences such as GITEX, GESS and Dubai Future Week. He is no stranger to media having been featured in numerous newspapers, TV segments, radio shows and podcasts. He is an Awecademy Alumnus, currently the youngest innovator at The Knowledge Society’s virtual global program and attends both primary and secondary school. He is a big AR/VR enthusiast and science and tech lover. Adam loves following his intellectual curiosity and always finds himself down one rabbit hole or another and emerging with some fascinating discoveries!

Adam's Instagram

Adam's LinkedIn

The Knowledge Society

Awecademy

School of Humanity

Timestamps:
- 0:51 - Guest Intro
- 2:12 - Intro
- 4:16 - Finding your voice
- 5:30 - Where he gets his confidence
- 7:07 - The best mentors he's ever had
- 11:14 - Reforming the educational system
- 14:53 - What is kinesthetic learning?
- 16:31 - How parents can foster success for their children
- 17: 57 - Parents' encouragement
- 19:30 - What The Knowledge Society (TKS) gave him
- 21:38 - The next 10 years in STEAM
- 25:05 - The role of companies in education
- 28:00 - Message to the world

Stephanie Carrasco is a Coordinator of Advanced Academics for the Socorro Independent School District, also known as SISD. Located in El Paso, Texas, this district is home to nearly 50,000 students. For four years she has handled academic events for the district, including a decathalon and a huge robotics competition, which we'll hear more about soon.

Stephanie has a wide-ranging skillset, having a background in the sciences before earning her Master's Degree in Educational Technology and Leadership from Lamar University. She is a passionate educator who strives to ensure that her students graduate as career-ready professionals who continue to be learners long after they've left the district.

Stephanie's Twitter - https://twitter.com/YCarrasco_AA

Article: ROBOCOM 7.0 goes virtual - https://bit.ly/3sDO6xP 

Yücel Tekin is the founder and CEO of Robotum, an organization which facilitates robotics workshops for children and teens between the ages of 6 and 19.

Before working on his company full-time, Yücel had experience as the Director of Distance Learning at Atilim University, as a Chief Information Officer in the military, as an ICT Instructor, and more.

Robotum acts as a consultant to schools and institutions interested in technology education and competitive robotics. Their talented team of youth builders and programmers routinely attends national and international competitions such as FIRST LEGO League Jr., FIRST LEGO League, and World Robot Olympiad.

Having four degrees, Yücel is a well-educated and experienced individual. After completing two undergraduate degrees in Management and Computer Science, he earned his Master’s in Education Technology, before finally achieving his Ph.D. based on his research into the effects of robotics on mathematics.

Yücel's website

Yücel's LinkedIn

Yücel's YouTube

Robotum's Facebook

Robotum's Instagram

Read our 2019 interview with Yücel

Timestamps:

2:00 - Introduction

4:10 - The most rewarding part of his job & working with Baskinet University

5:35 - How he discovered the Virtual Robotics Toolkit

7:40 - What he learns from his students

9:23 - Teaching his son and his role as a parent

12:58 - The advantages of virtual robotics

15:25 - His view on the next 10 years in STE(A)M

17:33 - Changing career paths & his educational background

21:18 - What the future classroom will look like and why education should be personalized

24:06 - His message to the world

 Sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com. 

Marvin Castillo is the Executive Director and President of FUNDESTEAM, a Non-Profit Organization specialized in the development and implementation of STEAM education in public and private schools. This organization has already reached 20,000 children from socially vulnerable areas, and on a weekly basis they have the opportunity to participate in robotics competitions and science projects.

While having an engineering background, Marvin is well-versed in the business world. He's sold houses, diving services, ship repairs, and built a multi-million dollar company from a laptop in his bedroom.

Today, he is a National Organizer for the World Robot Olympiad and is heading the expansion of Robot Virtual Games, a entirely digital platform that provides students around the world with affordable and powerful opportunities to learn coding through robotics.

Marvin's Twitter

Marvin's Facebook

Marvin's Instagram

Marvin's LinkedIn

Robot Virtual Games website

Robot Virtual Games Twitter

Robot Virtual Games Facebook

Robot Virtual Games Instagram

Robot Virtual Games TikTok

Sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com​.

Marwa Soudi is an engineer, entrepreneur, teacher, and self-proclaimed tinkerer who claims she never uses a manual to build furniture. Marwa has a B.Sc. in Electronics and Electrical Engineering, as well as a M.Sc. in High Power Lasers and Meta-material devices from Alexandria University. She has also earned her Masters in Educational Technology from the University of Tartu. She co-founded the STEM-centric company, Ideasgym, in 2011, an organization which enriches the educational journeys of children in Egypt through project-based curricula.

Marwa is decorated with a lengthy list of awards, including but not limited to:

• Winning first place in the MSMEs category for her Ideasgym work in the Women in ICT Awards
• Being a finalist in Miss Digital Africa 2019
• Being selected as a Tony Elemelu Foundation Entrepreneur in 2018
• She has been a World Robot Olympiad National Organizer
• She has been a former speaker at the 2012 Global Education Forum in Dubai

In addition to all of these accomplishments, Marwa is also a co-founder of the IEEE Egypt Women in Engineering affinity group, a former IEEE RAS Juniors chair, and was a DigiGirlz robotics workshops leader for Microsoft Egypt from 2014 to 2019. As we speak, her and her team are working hard to develop a new e-learning environment based on constructionist principles. Follow Marwa and Ideasgym via the links below!

Marwa's LinkedIn

IdeasGym website

IdeasGym on LinkedIn

IdeasGym on Instagram

IdeasGym on Facebook

IdeasGym on Twitter

Sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com. 

 The Cogcast, hosted by Cogmation Robotics, is your soon-to-be favourite place to learn about all things STEAM-related. Yes, that includes Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. Join us as we meet with industry leaders on the cusp of emerging technologies. These episodes are going to be on the shorter side at less than an hour each, but they'll be action-packed with plenty of valuable takeaways that you can apply in your own classroom or at home with your young learners. Tune in soon for our first episode - we'll be live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, anywhere you can get listen to a podcast! Created by the makers of the Virtual Robotics Toolkit.