In recent reports, The UK Government Office for Science (GoScience) noted that UK ranks 1st for research quality in Robotics (GOV.UK, 2025a). Robotics is rapidly expanding, 205,000 professional-service robots were sold globally in 2023, a 30% increase year-on-year (GOV.UK, 2025a).
However, as robots are moving from labs to workplaces, the education systems risk falling behind in preparing students for this technological shift. The UK government’s Rapid Technology Assessments (RTAs) on robotics and humanoids highlight both the opportunities and the challenges ahead, focusing predominantly on, healthcare, education and personal assistant domains.
Computing and Engineering education must evolve to prepare students not just to use robots, but to design, build, program, maintain, and ethically govern them. Looking ahead, humanoid robots are forecast to become common in daily life by 2040 (World Economic Forum, 2025). Education across all levels must therefore adapt now, ensuring learners are ready to design and build the robots, collaborate with, oversee, and critically evaluate the role of robots in society.
The latest RTA on robotics highlights the expanding capabilities of the field, driven by advances in AI, sensors, materials, and battery technology, with applications spanning manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, logistics, and more (GOV.UK, 2025a). Humanoids present a particular case. They promise human-like interaction, dexterity, and adaptability, yet remain largely experimental or novelty-driven due to their structural complexity and high cost. Without strategic, flexible planning, investments in humanoids education we risk robots becoming obsolete before we realise their potential. One answer to this issue are in-house build machines, where institutions have a full overview and proprietary rights to both hardware and software, avoiding pitfalls of commercial organisations (The Conversation, 2025). However, this means training a whole new generation of multidisciplinary, robot-oriented students.
It is increasingly clear that robotics is not just about hardware. Modern robotics depends on AI, data science, cloud infrastructure, human–computer interaction, and cybersecurity (GOV.UK, 2025a). Humanoids introduce even greater IT demands, including natural language processing with sensory integration (embodied AI), real-time decision-making, and edge computing (GOV.UK, 2025b).
The implication for education is direct: computer science and engineering must integrate robotics concepts into curricula. If these remain siloed in engineering departments, graduates risk missing the critical cross-disciplinary skills needed for the robotics.
For IT education, this raises an important challenge: how do we teach robotics in a way that is inclusive and future-proof? The answer lies in focusing on software, modularity, and cloud-based control so that students learn variety of skills rather than becoming experts in a single, off-the- shelf, soon-to-be outdated robot. This mirrors the evolution of computing education: rather than teaching one programming language, curricula now emphasise transferable principles of algorithms, data structures, and systems design.
Robotics offers a natural cross-disciplinary bridge. It combines not only engineering and machine building, but also algorithms and AI, networking and cybersecurity, as well as accessibility and user experience. Project-based learning, such as programming robot behaviours, construct robots designed to perform specific tasks or solve problems etc; encourages critical thinking (Štěpánková, et al, 2020), and in turn creativity and workforce readiness.
Education must prepare for “robotics as a service” models, where robots are leased, updated via software, and integrated into IT networks (Automate, 2023). Students should therefore learn DevOps for robots: software deployment, monitoring, patching, and data pipeline management. These skills align with the way industry increasingly manages robots as part of broader digital infrastructure.
Robotics should not be presented as an add-on, but rather embedded across curricula. Core content should include theoretical foundations, ethical implications, and practical applications. Interdisciplinary teaching formats, capstone projects, labs, competitions, help connect learning to real-world challenges (Ryalat, et al, 2025).
Educational institution can not only provide robotics as courses but also use the very machines to support inclusive learning. For instance, humanoids have shown promise in supporting children with autism, enhancing social interaction and communication (Alghamdi, et al, 2023). IT curricula should ensure that future computer scientists design inclusive interfaces and ethical AI-robotics systems, embedding accessibility at the core of innovation.
Government strategies, such as the UK’s Industrial Strategy 2025, include robotics hubs, SME support, and R&D investment (Tech UK, 2025). These can underpin educational initiatives if directed effectively. At the same time, partnerships between universities, industry, and government are essential to co-develop robotics education that remains current and sustainable.
Pilot projects already demonstrate the value of early exposure. During British Science Week in 2025, UK primary school students engaged with humanoids, sparking curiosity and strengthening STEM interest (Civil Service Blog, 2025). Scaling such initiatives could make robotics education both more inclusive and more engaging.
However, the RTAs also highlight risks that cannot be ignored: technological uncertainty, public acceptance, safety, privacy, and inequality (GOV.UK, 2025a; Public Technology, 2025). Education must therefore embed ethics as a core pillar. Students should be encouraged not only to ask what robots can do, but also what they should do. Embedding AI ethics, cybersecurity, and digital rights into robotics education will ensure that graduates can critically evaluate the deployment of robots in society. This ethical grounding is as important as technical fluency.
Robotics, and humanoids especially, offer an unprecedented opportunity to revolutionise learning, augment inclusivity, and shape future skills. UK research is world-class, but without a systematic approach to embedding robotics into computer science and IT curricula, the country risks producing graduates with outdated or narrow skills. By teaching enduring foundations, algorithms, data pipelines, AI ethics, cybersecurity, using robots as case studies, education can become both future-proof and industry-aligned.
Educators and policymakers must collaborate to ensure robotics education is adaptable, ethical, and forward-looking. If successful, the UK will not just prepare students to work with robots, it will prepare them to lead in shaping a humanoid-driven future.
References
- Alghamdi, M., Alhakbani, N., & Al-Nafjan, A. (2023). Assessing the Potential of Robotics Technology for Enhancing Educational for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Behavioral Sciences, 13(7), 598. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13070598
- Automate (2023). Everything you need to know about Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS)
- Civil Service Blog. (2025, March 14). The Humanoid Project: How robot education is inspiring young minds. GOV.UK.
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. (2025a). Rapid technology assessment: Robotics. GOV.UK.
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. (2025b). Rapid technology assessment: Humanoids. GOV.UK
- Neumann, C. (2025, June 16). Humanoid robots: Disruption and promise. World Economic Forum.
- Ryalat, M., Almtireen, N., Al-refai, G., Elmoaqet, H., & Rawashdeh, N. (2025). Research and Education in Robotics: A Comprehensive Review, Trends, Challenges, and Future Directions. Journal of Sensor and Actuator Networks, 14(4), 76.
- Strathearn, C., Sobolewska, E., (2025, May 21). Universities face getting stuck with thousands of obsolete robots: Here’s how to avoid a research calamity. The Conversation.
- Štěpánková, M., Křivánek, R., & Křivánková, M. (2020). Project-based STEM learning using educational robotics as the main tool. Mathematics, 10(23), 4618.
- Tech UK. (2025, June 30). Industrial Strategy 2025: What it means for the robotics sector.
- Trendall, S. (2025, March 21). ‘Highly capable, mobile, dexterous and autonomous’ – policymakers equipped with guide to humanoids. Public Technology