Rodrigo Dearmas

Rodrigo Dearmas

Americas, Uruguay, Primary and Secondary Education, 2024

Rodrigo Dearmas works in the education sector as the Co-founder and Director of UYRobot. For school-aged children in Uruguay seeking equal access to quality STEAM education, UYRobot is an education and technology company offering robotics-based learning via its hybrid business model, where clients pay for workshops or courses designed for schools or individuals while businesses, government agencies, or NGOs provide funding for families who cannot afford these programs. Rodrigo Dearmas' primary short-term goal is to expand UYRobot's activities to reach more children in rural areas and, ultimately, considering Latin America's economic challenges, to develop an affordable robot and expand into neighboring countries. Coming into the YLAI Fellowship, Rodrigo Dearmas' main business challenge is Scaling and Expansion. More specifically, it is difficult to find teachers qualified in robotics-based STEAM education to enable the company to compete for job opportunities while working with a limited budget. During the Fellowship Placement, Rodrigo Dearmas hopes to gain valuable insights into a similar organization's operations, albeit one in a developed country with access to the latest technology and funding.