Development of innovative strategies within the framework of STEM education initiatives
Committed to collaborative innovation and ethics, where we work in artificial intelligence and technological solutions with established trends.
Development
Collaboration
At Descubre Robótica we believe that collaboration is the engine of real change. An example of this is how, inspired by the project led by Jackeline García Alvarado, we promote environments where knowledge, technology, and creativity are shared with a common purpose: to empower our communities.
Our approach is based on building inclusive spaces where each participant not only learns, but also teaches, creates, and transforms their environment. Through collaborative initiatives, we seek to reduce access gaps, strengthen STEM skills, and foster leadership in young people, especially from underrepresented populations.
This effort is not individual, it's collective. We work alongside students, volunteers, and communities to develop lasting solutions that generate sustainable impact and promote a culture of mutual support, innovation, and social commitment.
Because we believe that true innovation not only builds technology, but also opportunities and hope.
Jackeline is currently studying Computer Science at Trinity College. She is the first Costa Rican to participate in the International Telecommunication Union's Generation Connect initiative 2022, which has allowed her to forge learning connections (in Rwanda and Romania) and further motivate the inclusion of women in STEM fields. Her national awards include first place in the Junior Achievement 2020 competition, in its 100th year. She was also recognized at Expo Ingeniería 2019, in the Computer Science category.
Investigation
Mission
At Descubre Robótica we promote research among experts, students and communities to address challenges in science and technology through innovative, accessible and sustainable solutions.
This is how Nicolle Gamboa Mena leads the integration of the potential of Artificial Intelligence with the development of multiphysics environments —where digital, physical and environmental systems converge— to design, simulate and implement solutions that respond to real problems, especially in the field of conservation and responsible management of natural resources.
Our mission goes beyond technical training: We believe in horizontal collaboration, where learning is shared and leadership is built collectively. Each project is a platform for developing change agents who integrate science, ethics, and innovation with tangible impact.
Because we understand that the future is not built solely with technology, but with communities capable of creating, sustaining, and scaling solutions that transform their reality.
Nicolle has the honor of being one of the only Costa Ricans today to receive the Intel Global Impact Festival 2023 award for a project that has been developing since its inception in the Descubre Robótica fraternity, which she associates with her engineering studies at the Costa Rica Institute of Technology (TEC) and the University of Costa Rica (UCR). This includes national and international awards, including those from the 2019 National Engineering Expo and the 2021 International Innovation and Technology Fair held in Ecuador.
Ethics
Vision
At Descubre Robótica we envision a future where ethics guides every scientific and technological development, ensuring responsible, transparent innovation geared towards collective well-being.
Since her beginnings in our fraternity, Keilyn Carrillo Barrantes aspires to consolidate a network of builders capable of integrating Artificial Intelligence and multiphysics environments with social and environmental responsibility, understanding the long-term impact of their solutions.
Our fraternity envisions innovation ecosystems where conservation and technological development coexist in balance, through sustainable models that generate economic value for communities.
We seek to train leaders who act with ethical judgment in every decision, from the design of algorithms to their implementation in real-world contexts.
Because progress is not measured solely by what we create, but by the responsible impact of what we choose to build.
The COVID-19 pandemic did not dampen her motivation to develop her skills in data networking techniques and her studies in Mechatronics Engineering at Invenio University. She has the honor of being the overall winner of ExpoIngeniería Nacional 2022 and a two-time consecutive winner of the RobotiFest aerospace challenge. She is part of the winning team of the AIDAA challenge in Italy in 2024, focusing on innovation in the aerospace field. Furthermore, she achieved first place in the master category of the inaugural IICA Robotics Challenge 2025.
Our Globally Recognized Megatrends
Presenting four papers related to research areas including guidance and control of space systems and intelligent algorithms for space exploration.
Development of the first Martian terrain simulation quadrangle (similar to the Arcadia quadrant) for use in rover testbeds.
First Costa Rican astronautical group with an emphasis on AI use cases, following the methodology and agreements of the International Telecommunication Union's FG.
Presenting four papers related to research areas including guidance and control of space systems and intelligent algorithms for space exploration.
AI4Space IAC 2025
Spatium Scientia IAC 2024
Reasoning
Educational Strategies
At Descubre Robótica we conceive of education as a comprehensive process where cognitive, ethical and socio-emotional development is as relevant as technical knowledge.
Our comprehensive support incorporates Natalia Labo's Pedagogical Chess initiative as a cross-cutting tool that strengthens critical thinking, planning, and decision-making, acting as a mental gym that prepares students to face challenges in science and technology. She is the president of the Education Commission of the Costa Rican Chess Federation, as well as having been a national team member at one time.
Through this approach, key skills such as logical reasoning, concentration, and problem-solving are promoted, along with fundamental values such as discipline, respect, fairness, and responsibility for one's own decisions.
Through Pedagogical Chess, learning is sought as an active and collaborative environment, where error is part of the process and strategy is built with others, strengthening both individual capacities and community cohesion.
Because education in science and technology also means education in thought, character, and ethics.
Costa Rica, play!
Our Proactive Affinities for Collaboration and National Recognition
Inclusion
Girls in ICT
At Descubre Robótica we promote inclusive education that encourages the active participation of girls and young women in science and technology, aligned with global initiatives such as the International Telecommunication Union and its Girls in ICT program.
As part of the first generation of the Generation Connect program, we have represented Costa Rica and projected our work beyond the national level, participating in national spaces (talks in communities, schools and colleges) and international spaces (USA, Ecuador, Switzerland, Italy, Romania, Poland, Rwanda, India, South Korea and Japan), connecting local communities with global innovation ecosystems.
Descubre Robótica supports ongoing educational processes where girls, from elementary school to university, participate in high-impact experiences. Valentina Castillo is an example of how her experience with the World Robot Olympiad, FIRST LEGO League, F1 in Schools, Intel AI Global Impact Festival, and Science Fairs has strengthened her technical skills, critical thinking, and leadership, alongside the Descubre Robótica group since she was seven years old.
This approach promotes empowering new generations to be able to integrate into global technological environments with ethical criteria, trust, and purpose.
Because closing the gender gap in technology means creating real, sustainable opportunities connected to the world from the earliest stages of education.
Years ago, we participated in the first edition of F1 in Schools Costa Rica, where we received four awards for our fieldwork.
Now, this 2025 we are part of the jury.
Congratulations Dilan!
METHODOLOGY AND PROGRAMS
The vision of the Descubre Robótica program is to transform the everyday and inspire the next generation. The digital equipment and software used, the promotion and correct use of renewable energies, knowledge of the network infrastructure and solutions for multi-physical problems show young people the possibilities and the great things that can be achieved in the world through engineering.
With our personalized direction and follow-up for each participant, we are passionate about encouraging young people to pursue a career in the field of technology and engineering to develop discipline, skills and rewarding experiences in engineering that transform and improve their lives.
PROJECTS
The STEM education approach is incomplete without art and literature. Project-based learning is an ideal way to master STEAM or STREAM skills in a way that feels relevant to students.
This is how projects help students master useful skills, continue to learn in a fun way, and allow themselves to direct the course of their own education. That's a win for everyone.
A PBL pedagogy, Descubre Robótica enables you to track, assess, and showcase your innovative learning at scale, all on a platform where fully customized tools are at your disposal.
YOU CAN BE PART
Nowadays, we live in a society where parents or guardians work full time. STREAM education (Science - Technology -Reading & wRiting - Engineering - Arts & Design - Math) becomes an external resource that benefits the development of thought, with experimentation, from preschool ages to youth and adults.
If we begin to guide critical thinking, dialogue and research early on, we are forming a generation of citizens who will actively develop the recognition of a problem in such a way that they will seek solutions with their already solid skills and creativity.
DETECTING SKILLS FOR PROBLEM SOLVING
Structural knowledge is knowing how different concepts relate to each other. You are looking for a mental model of everything you know about a certain topic (which we call domain). Thus, we seek this information to make the necessary predictions and inferences so that our participants are able to solve problems recognizing their multi-physical environment.
The best way to assess students' structural knowledge is to describe the relationship between the concepts associated with the Descubre Robótica I.D.E.A.S program. That they be able to describe and evaluate their own performance, to constantly prepare themselves with clear expectations.
Therefore, a custom rubric is created for each participant, which typically looks like a scale or set of scales that describe different levels of performance.
Good rubrics do more than make projects easier to assess and help them evolve; they also help students become more self-directed and self-assessed learners.
Do you want to know more about the Descubre Robótica team ?