"When are we going to make robots?" Children's wishes inspire businesses

At just 11 years old, Alisa from Orhei already has big dreams—she wants to become the first woman astronaut from the Republic of Moldova or work on building spaceships. Until then, she is taking robotics classes at Robotix.

"Here we learn how to build Lego robots, how to program them, and much more. At first, I thought it would be more complicated, but I got used to it and now it seems easy," says Alisa. 

The Robotix school was opened launched in the spring of 2025 in Orhei by Sergiu Smîntînă, a professional programmer. Its launch was made possible with financial support from the European Union, provided through the Confidence Building Measures Programme.

The school opened its first branch in Chișinău during the pandemic.

"Robotics is about algorithms and cause-and-effect processes. I noticed that students often lacked a visual component while working with Arduino schematics. After analyzing the market, we realized that switching to a LEGO-type construction system was the ideal solution for transforming abstract concepts into robots," explains Sergiu. 

At Robotix, children and teenagers don't just build with LEGO, they learn scientific principles through a hands-on platform. 

Sergiu believes that robotics should be integrated into the school curriculum: "LEGO education is not like traditional teaching, where the teacher writes 2+2=4 on the board and you simply copy it.  Here, it works the other way around. First you try, you experiment, and then whatever you didn’t understand is explained to you. There are countless ways to reach a solution, and it's up to you to experiment and find your own way," says Sergiu.

Every Saturday, Sergiu is in Orhei to guide children who are passionate about technology into the world of robotics. Thanks to the support of the European Union and UNDP, children in Orhei now have access to construction sets that include Lego pieces, sensors, motors, tablets, and mini programming hubs, plus an interactive whiteboard.

With these kits at their disposal, each child learns to build and program their own robots, developing both logical thinking and creativity.

"We would like to see more girls in robotics classes, as we have already seen that they often come up with highly creative ideas that go beyond the purely technical aspects," adds Sergiu.

"This is the first time I've done robotics and I love what I do, I had never studied this field before. I thought I didn't belong in this world, but after four robotics lessons, I realized I can do it. What I enjoy most is interacting with the children, and although the programming part may seem a bit difficult since I'm not an IT expert, I’m learning," says Anastasia Ureche, a robotics mentor. Although this field is new to her, Anastasia demonstrates that teaching skills can be successfully transferred to technology education.

Victor, 10 years old, is one of her students: "Here we build robots using Lego and program them to perform different movements. It wasn't difficult to learn because the tablet shows the building steps one by one. I would like to have lessons like this at school because it's interesting and doesn't take much time," says Victor.

Sergiu Smîntînă is one of 20 entrepreneurs on both sides of the Nistru River who have received assistance to launch or develop their businesses.

By supporting small and medium-sized businesses, the EU Confidence Building Measures Programme, implemented by UNDP, contributes to the creation of economic opportunities on both banks of the Nistru River.