A SXSWedu Conference & Festival panel at the Hilton Austin that included representatives from Anderson High School, National Instruments and robotics nonprofit FIRST in Texas discussed the role of robotics programs in education and the benefits of approaching them like a football or baseball program. Robotics programs can be expensive to initiate, with starting costs up to $10,000 for varsity teams, panelists said during the March 8 session. John Sperry, sponsor for the Anderson HS robotics team in Austin ISD, said that is partly why it is important for school systems and communities to support such programs. Robotics competitions and tournaments are one way to offer robotics programs the spotlight often given to popular sports programs and can help encourage the students involved, Sperry said. “It's important an activity like [a tournament] validates [the robotics students'] work is appreciated by the local community," Sperry said. Anderson HS unveiled its new $3 million applied technology center Feb. 23. Ray Hsu, section manager for academic programs at National Instruments, said his company hires thousands of engineers in Austin and understands student exposure to technology programs such as robotics can be critical for workforce development. "The robot is the exciting part, but it's really the skills they develop ... that are really important,” Hsu said. “These students know how to work in teams; they know how to get together and solve an incredibly complex program in a short amount of time.” Ray Almgren, a technology consultant and chair of FIRST in Texas, said robotics programs are growing but likely only around 2 percent of Texas high schools participate. “We’re really only scratching the surface,” Almgren said.