More than 60 teams to compete at second UAE National Robotics Olympiad being organized by Edutech

The Olympiad, to be held at Sharjah Men's College on October 18, 2007 under the patronage of the UAE Ministry of Education, has already listed 30 teams from private schools under its roster, and is expecting some 20 more from government schools to follow suit, as the students vie for the two coveted slots at the World Robotics Olympiad 2007, which will be held in Taiwan from November 16-18, 2007.

Included in the list of participating private schools are Our Own English High School, Sharjah; American Community School, Abu Dhabi; Dubai American Academy, Dubai; Far Eastern Private School, Sharjah; Our Own High School, Al Warqa'a, Dubai; The Millennium School, Dubai; Our Own English High School, Abu Dhabi; and JESS, Dubai. Sharjah Men's College will be providing top-of-the-range infrastructure and resources to host an event of such magnitude.

"It is very rewarding to see that more and more students are being drawn to the world of robotics, as evident with the significant increase in student registration this year. Encouraging the students to engage in activities like this is an excellent educational tool because the experience is both highly informative and very enjoyable.

It is not only their creativity and intellect that are being honed, but their people skills as well as they coordinate and interact with their team mates, teachers, advisors and other people involved in their project to be able to deliver the most desirables results.

This competition is really an event that promotes the overall development of our students as it touches several life aspects that are vital in the growth of our youth. Sharjah Men's College is proud to host this event, which has a very strong impact on the future of the UAE," said Ged Ryan, Associate Director and Chief Information Officer, Sharjah Men's College.

Participants in the Open category will compete under the theme 'Civil Safety, Security and Emergency Response' as they narrate a science fiction story through their constructed robots.

In the Regular category, students will compete under the theme 'Robo Ambulating Rally', where their constructed robots must successfully manoeuvre along a marked track while following traffic instructions and hurdling obstacles. In addition to the demonstrations and presentations, the teams will also have to answer a series of questions from the panel of expert judges.

"Following a successful inaugural staging last year, the competition now enjoys a growing popularity among students, particularly after the UAE representatives performed creditably during the World Robotics Olympiad.

This year, our expectations of a much bigger competition in terms of participants are being realized with the surge of student teams registering for the competition.

The UAE National Robotics Olympiad is shaping up to be one of the most important and dynamic platforms to harness the creativity, ingenuity, inventiveness and innovative spirit of our youth in the field of technology," said ASF Karim, Managing Director, Edutech.

A total of 21 countries are expected in this year's world finals, an increase from the 17 teams in the World Robotics Olympiad 2006. Aside from the UAE, other teams that competed in the World Robotics Olympiad 2006 were from Australia, South Korea, China, Japan, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Denmark, Russia and Iran.