SB2333 SD2

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2333
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that there has been a sharp decline in students pursuing careers in the fields of engineering and technology. Educational programs that offer maximum learning opportunities in these fields will ensure that Hawaii's young professionals, Hawaii's next generation of leaders and innovators, are effectively equipped with the specialized knowledge to compete in the global market.

Each year, the International Robot Maze Contest is held in Nagoya, Japan, where traditionally the competition has been made up of and dominated by the top technical high schools and universities of Japan, Korea, and Guatemala. While in the past, no high school from the United States has ever entered the contest, this year, seventeen students from the Waiakea high school robotics team took their robotic creations to Japan and ended up winning several honors at the competition.

The Waiakea high school robotics team competed against thirty-four international teams, including twenty-eight universities. The team won one category, the "Fully Autonomous Micro Robot Maze Competition," and placed third and fourth in two other categories. The team also won a "Best Effort" award.

Robotics programs have introduced students to unique educational experiences that will allow them to explore their dreams, careers, and new frontiers in science and technology.

The legislature further finds that expanding the robotics program to the university level will further the opportunities in engineering and technology for Hawaii's young professionals and encourage the technology industry to consider Hawaii as a technology axis for the Pacific region.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a working group to discuss the feasibility of creating within the college of engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa an institute of robotics or a related institute or program with consideration of the appropriate background science and technology fields, and application areas, on which an institute or other program will focus.

SECTION 2. (a) There is established within the University of Hawaii a working group to discuss the feasibility of creating, within the college of engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, an institute of robotics or a related institute or program with consideration of the appropriate background science and technology fields, and application areas, on which an institute or other program will focus. The dean of the college of engineering, or the dean's designee, shall be responsible for coordinating the working group and submitting a report to the legislature. Membership in the working group may include, but shall not be limited to, representatives from the legislature; the department of education; the department of business, economic development, and tourism; the county economic development boards; Hawaii's science and technology industry; the business community; and any others that may be deemed appropriate.

(b) The working group shall discuss the feasibility of establishing within the college of engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa an institute of robotics or a related institute or program with consideration of the appropriate background science and technology fields, and application areas, on which an institute or other program will focus. The working group may consider the following:

(1) Opportunities that an institute of robotics or a related institute or program could offer to students and professors, and the interest level of each;

(2) Certificates or degrees that could be earned through an institute of robotics or a related institute or program;

(3) Comparable programs at other universities or institutions of higher education;

(4) Areas of interest that would be most beneficial to Hawaii, including medical or health applications, elderly assistance, dual use, space exploration, software development, and oceanographic applications;

(5) Costs associated with establishing and maintaining an institute of robotics or a related institute or program; and

(6) Any other issues that the working group finds relevant.

(c) The working group shall submit its findings and recommendations to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2010.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon approval.