Robotics competition to take place in Qatar
For the first time, one of world’s largest robotics competition will be held in Qatar in November.
A practice competition for students of the 2015 World Robot Olympiad (WRO) was launched yesterday by Maersk Oil Qatar and College of the North Atlantic Qatar (CNA-Q), in partnership with the Supreme Education Council (SEC).
The competition which will be held under the theme “Robot Explorer” from Novemebr 6 to 8, will have 3,000 participants from 55 countries taking part in it.
The event will be held in Al Shaqab Indoor Arena and feature challenges that reflect local cultural influences, including one for primary school level which is called ‘Pearl Diving’.
WRO is an annual contest to develop skills and enthusiasm students have in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
It brings together teams of young people from all over the world and challenges them to use creativity and problem-solving skills to build robots capable of completing a range of challenges.
Fawziya Al Khater, Director, Education Institute, SEC, said, “We would like to officially announce that Qatar will host WRO 2015 which is a testament to the progress achieved by the state in supporting development of STEM skills.”
However, before the WRO, Qatar National Robot Olympiad finals will be held from October 30 to 31. About 1,200 students from elementary, middle and senior schools will take part in it, from which those to represent Qatar at WRO will be selected.
About 34 teams of students are expected to represent Qatar at the world event.
Preparations for both events are under way, with 600 teachers from schools having attended over 250 training sessions organized and run by CNA-Q throughout the year.
Participating teachers benefited from up to 30 hours of classroom training, gaining skills and experience in making the best use of robotics equipment in classroom settings.
This enables them to support student teams as they prepare for Qatar National Robot Olympiad finals – and potentially WRO – and inspire them for robotics and mathematical engineering on a longer-term basis. [Source and cover image -The Peninsula]
