One in seven Minnesota jobs are tied to manufacturing, according to “Dream it. Do it. MN.” Andrew Dahlen, an electronics technology and automated systems instructor at Northland Community and Technical College and an instructor at this week’s “Dream it. Do it.” Robotics camp at BSU, wants to make sure the next generation is ready to take over the field.

Dahlen and co-instructor Aaron Barker, an energy and electronics technology instructor in St. Cloud Technical and Community College, started the robotics camp at BSU five years ago.

“We were seeing kids in the classroom that weren’t as prepared as they could have been. The workforce needs people and if they don’t know it exists, why would they go into it?” Dahlen said. “It’s been amazing to see each year, the knowledge level has grown. They have so much more experience going into their college classes. I would love to have these kids in my classroom.”

At the weeklong camp, students learn by building robots in teams. At the end of the week, the teams’ robots compete in a featured VEX competition, which are held year round in the state.

This year’s game is called “Starstruck.” The players have a 12-foot by 12-foot area that is split in half by a fence. There are stars and two cubes spread out strategically around the area. Two teams form an alliance, one on the red side and the other on the blue side. The goal is to move the objects to the other side to score points using the robots.

On Wednesday, the teams were halfway through the design and building process for their robots.

“They are developing the technical talent,” Dahlen said. “This camp gives them that hands-on experience. They are learning not just by reading a  book but the actual experience.

Matt Preis is in his first year at camp, but has been on a VEX robotics team for three years.

“We have had to make changes, the size restrictions are what a lot of people are having trouble with,” Preis said. “The main thing we built around was how we elevated the robot, we needed things to line up.”

And even though each team designs and build its own robot, the teams share ideas and help each other out, Dahlen said.

“It is a competition, but it’s a community. too,” Dahlen said. “Even during the school year competitions the teams help each other. If one team has a broken motor, another team will give them a new one. They realize it’s about the learning process.”

Abby Klein, a past camper who is now a councilor, said the human relationships at camp are what keep her coming back.

“I like the leadership part and keeping people organized and on track,” Klein said. “I also really like a lot of the people here.”