[DigitalToday reporter Lee Ho-jung] Smilegate Futurelab said on Monday it will run the digital maker education programme "Future Laboratory with Smilegate" with the Gyeonggi-do Seongnam Office of Education.

The programme is a public-private cooperation model that combines Smilegate Futurelab’s digital creative education content with the Seongnam education office’s local education resources. It will be split into 2 courses by age group, including "Futurebee Makerton" and "Futurebee Challenge."

"Futurebee Makerton" will be held over 2 days on Aug. 6 and 7 for students from second-year middle school to first-year high school. Participants will identify everyday problems linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and build solution prototypes through micro:bit hardware, data control, design thinking workshops and intensive coding.

"Futurebee Challenge" will run for 5 weeks on Wednesdays from Aug. 19 to Sept. 16 for fifth- and sixth-grade elementary school students. Participants will record everyday problem situations and use "OctoStudio," a mobile coding application developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, to turn ideas into prototypes.

Smilegate Futurelab plans to share the company’s creative education know-how with young people in Seongnam and provide opportunities for career exploration.

Sook-hyun Oh (오숙현), head of Smilegate Futurelab, said, "With the company’s creative education know-how meeting the local education office’s network, young people in Seongnam have been able to gain experience solving problems creatively." She added, "Futurelab will continue to steadily expand future education cooperation models that coexist with local communities."