Rotorua Aquabots champs head to International SeaPerch Competition in Washington DC

Rotorua's SAGE engineering club: Snigdha Raikar, 13, from Western Heights High School, Maia Al-Chakif, 15, from John Paul College, Nadia Wu, 14, from John Paul College, Jennika Kumar, 14, from Western Heights High School and Deborah Peak, 13, from Western Heights College won the NZ Aquabots National event in December. Photo / Supplied

Rotorua-based tech educator Jennifer Cathro wants to see more diversity in the industry and is determined to help the next generation achieve it.

“We want to make sure that we have more women, more Māori and Pasifika coming through.

“My big dream is that if we got 10% of the kids from Fordlands into technology careers, what would that do for Rotorua?”

In June, Cathro will lead her second group of Aquabot competition winners to compete in the world finals.

The Sage engineering club was the only all-female team to qualify for the International SeaPerch Competition in Washington DC on May 31 and June 1.

Students use SeaPerch educational toolkits when competing and are judged on their performance, programming and construction of the underwater robots.

Other teams representing New Zealand included the Dot Bot group from St Mark’s School in Christchurch and Team Orca from Marlborough Boy’s College.

Cathro said they would need to raise $40,000 to get to the competition and a Givealittle page had been set up.

An Aquabot in the water.

Spark Foundation had since come on board as the first corporate sponsor for 2025, Cathro said.

Employed by the national charity Ministry of Inspiration (MOI), Cathro told the Rotorua Daily Post the organisation worked to provide pathways for schools wanting to enter AI and tech competitions, including RoboCup Jr and Aquabots NZ.

MOI began providing programmes in Rotorua 12 years ago and Cathro moved to Rotorua seven years ago. At the same time, she started the Sage engineering club, focused on empowering young women in tech.

Cathro said the talent pool for up-and-coming future AI and tech leaders was strong in Rotorua and the Bay of Plenty, as highlighted by competition results in previous years.

MOI provided access to classroom modules focused on science, art, technology, and maths learning. Cathro said the programme prioritised those who were isolated, “either through geographic location, socio-economic status or any other barrier”.

“We’re here to kickstart and inspire, as well as to show how you can [engage] with tech.”

International representatives from the 2024 SAGE engineering club Aquabots entry in Washington from left: Siwan Lloyd-Jones, Maia Al-Chakif and Nadia Wu.

Growing tech confidence and literacy in the regions

Cathro said tech literacy was “low” from what she had seen.

But she was encouraged by the interest students had shown.

“We usually roll through a whole school just to get everybody talking the same language and show teachers that this is actually not that scary.

Cathro said a big part of MOI’s role was to empower teachers and students new to working in the space.

“We show how they can incorporate tech into their day-to-day delivery.”

“Regionally, in the Bay of Plenty the tech students population was 50/ 50 male, female and 40% Māori, which is fantastic.”

Providing young women a “sense of belonging” was a big part of her role.

“It’s somewhere where people don’t care what you look like or how cool you are. It’s about what skills do you bring to the table.

“I’ve seen a lot of, less fitting-in kids find their space, it’s changed their life outside of the group because someone almost unconditionally likes them and thinks they’re cool, and that they have value,” Cathro said.

‘I feel powerful’

Competing in Washington would be a first for new club members Snigdha Raikar, 13, Jennika Kumar, 14, and Deborah Peak, 13, from Western Heights High School.

‘I feel powerful,’ Jennika said.

“The club is about what we’re good at, not what we’re supposed to be good at.”

She found being in a group with other girls who wanted careers in tech to be encouraging, “especially since it’s a male-dominated space”.

“I feel like if you were to be with the boys then they would try and take over, and, personally, I feel like it would be a bit judgmental.”

“But you prove them wrong that’s why it’s a competition,” Deborah said.

Siwan Lloyd-Jones, 17, from Rotorua Lakes High School was the eldest in the club and had been with Cathro for seven years. In that time she had grown into a strong leader, Cathro said.

“She was ... quite timid and wouldn’t make a decision to save herself.”

Now, she mentored others.

“Seeing her start off as our worst driver — because she’d never gamed or anything — now she’s one of our best drivers.”

Students knew as young as 9 if they wanted a career in tech or not.

“At 9, they’ve decided science and technology is not for them, and of course, most of our kind of diversity initiatives around tech are aimed at upper high school.

“So it’s too late then,” Cathro said.

A goal she had was to put Rotorua “on the map” as a tech hub.

“There is no one in the world, as far as I can tell, who’s doing this tech stuff really well.

“There are little pockets, but no country or city has nailed this and I think Rotorua is uniquely positioned — it has really good access to everywhere.

“It’s got an airport, it’s three hours from Auckland, one and a half hours from Hamilton, a flight to Wellington.

“Strategically, we’re not that big so if every kid coming out of a school from Rotorua talked tech, that would bring companies here,” Cathro said.

Those interested in MOI programmes could ask their schools to apply for programmes online or visit ministryofinspiration.org.

Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.