The RINKO Project Concludes with a Successful Festival and New Educational Resources
Publish date: 2026/07/21 | Expire date: 2026/08/11 | Author: Neli Šijanec
News is expired!
The RINKO project, dedicated to developing and introducing foundational computer science and informatics knowledge in early childhood education, concluded at the end of June. The project was led by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Maribor, with the Faculty of Education at the University of Maribor and ten Slovenian kindergartens participating as project partners.
The main event marking the conclusion of the project was the RINKO Festival, held on 16 May at UM FERI. The festival attracted approximately 90 children, 65 parents and 60 preschool teachers, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Education.
Through play, exploration and screen-free activities, children discovered foundational concepts of computer science and informatics. The participating kindergartens prepared interactive activity stations and playrooms, while a professional programme for preschool teachers and other education professionals presented good practices, practical approaches and experiences gained during the project.
The festival provided an opportunity to exchange knowledge, build connections and present the results of collaboration among researchers, education experts and kindergartens. Its successful delivery confirmed strong interest in approaches that enable children to develop logical and algorithmic thinking, pattern recognition and problem-solving skills through play.
Another important project outcome is a collection of 180 learning scenarios. At the conclusion of the project, an additional 120 scenarios developed and tested by all participating kindergartens were published, joining the 60 scenarios published in the previous year.
The scenarios are intended for preschool teachers and other professionals working in preschool and school education who wish to integrate computer science and informatics content into learning processes. They cover algorithms and programming, networks and the internet, data and analysis, computer systems, and the impacts of computer science and informatics. Selected scenarios will also be published on the SIO platform – the Slovenian Education Network.
Although the RINKO project has concluded, its results, resources and established partnerships will continue to support the integration of foundational computer science and informatics knowledge into educational processes.
