Over 200 Students Participate in Botball Educational Robotics Program

Doha, April 06 (QNA) - Over 200 participants from 22 schools across the region participated in the 10th annual Botball Educational Robotics Program at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. The Botball Educational Robotics Program is an internationally renowned hands-on learning experience in robotics designed to engage secondary school students in learning the practical applications of science, technology, engineering and math. The program started with four schools participating from Qatar, Botball now has teams from different countries in the region, including UAE, Kuwait, Egypt, and Libya. This years competition theme was a continuation of last year's popular NASA's Curiosity Rover topic, where students were tasked to build robots that would be able to collect and send samples from Mars back to earth. The theme promotes the idea that robots can work with humans to help them with daily activities. Students competing have the opportunity to interact with faculty and current students at Carnegie Mellon Qatar giving them insight into what it takes to become a successful Carnegie Mellon Qatar student and learn more about the field of robotics and computer science. The interaction does not end after the competition, Carnegie Mellon Qatar continues to work with participating schools, equipping them with robotics kits and learning resources, giving them the necessary tools to continue teaching students about robotics. This has led to the formation of robotics clubs in schools, promoting student interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields (STEM). The team from DPS-Modern Indian School took home the first place prize: a chance to compete at the International Botball Tournament at the 2014 Global Conference on Educational Robotics (GCER) at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles during July this year. Carnegie Mellon Qatar will continue to work closely with the team giving them advice and feedback on how to improve their robot before they enter the competition. At GCER, middle school and high school students, educators, robotics enthusiasts, and professionals from around the globe gather to connect with peers, discuss technology-related ideas, and cheer on their favorite teams during two exciting autonomous robot tournaments. (QNA)