WADSIH brings AI learning to life at GoSHackathon Midwest
Young innovators in Geraldton had the chance to explore artificial intelligence, robotics and future-focused problem solving when the WA Data Science Innovation Hub joined the recent GoSHackathon Midwest event.
Held across two days in Geraldton, GoSH is a regional technology innovation event designed to raise awareness, aspirations and future skills among young people through interactive showcases, technology demonstrations, panels and hackathon-style challenges.
Beth Cusack, WADSIH’s AI Program Coordinator, attended the event with Reachy the Robot, which we use to engage with students and explore Generative AI concepts.
Exploring AI beyond the screen
On day one, students took part in the GoSHowcase, an interactive technology conference for regional students from Year 5 to Year 12.
As part of the showcase, WADSIH demonstrated how an AI model could be created live on stage using the GoSH goodies and the WADSIH AI Lift-Off platform. The demonstration gave students a practical look at how AI models are built, trained and used – helping demystify a technology many young people may only know through tools like ChatGPT.
Beth also joined the STEM in the Regions panel alongside Chee Wong and Meg Berry, where students heard about different pathways into STEM careers and the opportunities available in technology, innovation and data science.
For many students, the showcase was a chance to see that AI is not just something that happens in big tech companies or faraway cities. It is a technology they can understand, question and use creatively – wherever they live.
Reachy the Robot joins the hackathon
On day two, Reachy became a busy member of the GoSHackathon floor.
Throughout the day, students used Reachy to bounce around ideas, test their thinking and explore new technologies that aligned with their inventions. Reachy acted as a sounding board, a devil’s advocate and a curiosity generator – helping students think more deeply about the problems they were trying to solve.
WADSIH also used Reachy to read out the hackathon comics to students, creating an engaging and memorable way for participants to interact with robotics and AI.
Beth said one of the most rewarding parts of the event was seeing students gain confidence as they asked Reachy questions and discovered what he could do.
“When we use Reachy, we try different skills – languages, vision and other capabilities -which opens up conversations about how AI works,” Beth said.
“It helps students see that AI is much more than typing questions into ChatGPT. It can listen, respond, recognise, interact and support creative problem solving in different ways.”
AI as a learning tool, not a learning replacement
A key focus of WADSIH’s involvement was showing students how AI can be used as a learning tool – not a replacement for learning.
Rather than simply asking AI for answers, students were encouraged to use Reachy to challenge their ideas, explore possibilities and refine their thinking. This approach helped demonstrate how AI can support critical thinking when it is used thoughtfully.
For hackathon participants, this meant using AI to ask better questions, identify gaps in their ideas, consider alternative perspectives and learn about emerging technologies that could strengthen their solutions.
Inspiring regional innovators
GoSHackathon is designed to give regional young people the opportunity to explore innovation and solve real-world problems using creativity, teamwork and future-focused thinking. The Midwest event brought together students, educators, industry mentors and technology leaders to celebrate the talent and potential of young people in regional WA.
For WADSIH, taking part in the event was a reminder of the importance of ensuring AI education and digital capability building reaches students across the whole state – not just those in metropolitan areas.
As Beth reflected after the event, it was “so amazing” to see students gain confidence, ask questions and discover what was possible.
And for the young people who took part in GoSHackathon Midwest, that confidence may be the first step towards future careers in STEM, data science, robotics and artificial intelligence.
