Botball high school robotics competition kicks off with two-day workshop

Botball is a U.S.-based organization that introduces robotics to high school students. At the intensive two-day robotics workshop, the teams were given the necessary background and expertise to build and program their own Lego© Mindstorm robot.

Over the next few weeks, students will work with teachers and mentors to build and program their robots. The learning experience will culminate in April and May when the teams from each country compete against each other to see whose robot completes the course. The winning team also must demonstrate the work they've done in order to program their robot.

"Botball is a great way for high school students to learn about robots," said Chuck Thorpe, dean of Carnegie Mellon Qatar and former head of the Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute. "It's also an excellent way for students to put their skills in math, engineering and teamwork to use."

In addition to growing the event from six teams last year to 18 teams this year, Al Jazeera Children's Channel had shown interest in covering this event and producing a four-part documentary on Botball and robotics.

"Al Jazeera Children's Channel finds in this competition an exciting tool to help inspire students around the region and raise awareness of the creativity level of the Arab child. During last year's event, we witnessed the ability of Arab children to use subjects they learned in school in a meaningful way. They managed to design, build, program and document their robots,' says Mostapha Mellouk, Deputy General Manager of Al Jazeera Children's Channel.

"A JCC TV crew will be on location to cover all aspects of this year's event, which will be broadcast in the form of several reports starting with the workshop this month all the way to the finale that will be held in Doha in May."

Country-level Botball competitions will take place on Saturday, April 28, in Doha; on Thursday, May 3, in Kuwait; and on Saturday, May 12, in the U.A.E. Twelve teams will compete in Doha, three in Kuwait and three in the U.A.E. The top two teams from each competition will then go on to compete in the Regional Botball Championship on Thursday, May 24, in Doha.