Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Francesca Gratani is an educational technology researcher whose work sits at the intersection of robotics, coding, and innovative pedagogy, with a particular focus on primary education and teacher professional development. Her research champions the use of educational robotics as a transformative tool for cultivating 21st-century competencies — including problem-solving, collaboration, and computational thinking — in young learners. Her most-cited work, "Towards 2030: Enhancing 21st Century Skills through Educational Robotics" (2022, 24 citations), positions robotics as a catalyst for reforming traditional school curricula in alignment with contemporary STEM demands. Complementing this, her 2021 study on problem-solving in primary schools (14 citations) offers concrete empirical evidence of robotics' pedagogical value in real classroom settings. Gratani has also explored the Maker movement's potential to disrupt and enrich conventional learning environments, and has made significant contributions to teacher training, documenting how educators can meaningfully integrate design, coding, and robotics into their practice — including during the shift to online delivery. Her research on inclusive design further reflects a commitment to equitable, accessible education. Based at the University of Macerata, Italy, Gratani's growing body of work is shaping how schools prepare students for an increasingly digital world.