Before Robots Learn, Students Must: Trade-Offs in Educating Future Roboticists

Robots are increasingly deployed in everyday work settings alongside humans, creating new demands for systems that can operate safely and effectively in dynamic, unpredictable environments. These pressures extend into robotics education, which must prepare students not only in traditional theoretical foundations but also for the practical and human-centered realities of real-world robotic deployment. Yet little empirical work examines how robotics education is adapting to these needs. We present a case study of a master’s-level robotics course that integrates theoretical instruction with a practice-based challenge focused on human-aware navigation. Through observations, course material analysis, and interviews, we identify three educational trade-offs: real-world readiness vs. theoretical competence, component specialization vs. system-level understanding, and providing a "skeleton" structure vs. fostering creativity. These trade-offs illustrate how contemporary industry expectations and the growing importance of HRI reshape educational practice. Understanding these competing demands is essential for designing robotics curricula that can meaningfully prepare future engineers for robots operating in human environments.