'Our Own High School - Al Warqa'a' and 'Dubai Modern High School' were announced as winners of the second UAE National Robotics Olympiad, an annual robotics event organized by Edutech Middle East, a leading provider of technology-enabled learning
solutions, held yesterday (Thursday, October 18, 2007) at Sharjah Higher Colleges of
Technology, Men's College. Present during the competition were representatives from
the Ministry of Education, including Ali Maehad Al Sueeyday, Assistant
Undersecretary, Hassan Mohammed Lootah, Manager, Department of Culture, Activity and
Art and Frank Morgan, Educational Consultant, Ministry of Education; ASF Karim,
Managing Director, Edutech; James Graham, Commercial Director, Gulf Educational
Supplies Show (GESS); Ali Al Marzouqi, Vice Principal, Institute of Applied
Technology; and Ged Ryan, Associate Director and Chief Information Officer, Sharjah
Higher Colleges of Technology. The winning teams will vie for the coveted grand
prize at the fourth World
Robotics Olympiad (WRO) in Taipei, Taiwan, being held from November 16 - 18, 2007.
Under the patronage of the UAE Ministry of Education and with the aid of sponsors
such as Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology, WRO, Gulf Educational Supplies Show
(GESS) and LEGO, the leading manufacturer and supplier of robotic solutions, the
competition attracted massive interest from more than 32 private and government high
schools who registered to participate. Since the preparations for the event up to
the actual competition, the sponsors have been continuously providing assistance
through their different areas of expertise to ensure that the event will be a
success.
"The Ministry of Education commends the organiser of this event, Edutech, and their
sponsors who aided them in successfully mounting an event of this calibre. We, at
the Ministry, believe that the field of robotics possesses great potential as a tool
to hone our students' creative thinking and mechanical skills. We are indeed proud
to be a part of this event, and in line with our primary objective of promoting a
well-rounded educational system for our youth, we are looking forward to supporting
the organiser in its goal of increasing the number of participants in the next UAE
National Robotic Olympiad to 100 teams," said Ali Maehad Al Sueeyday.
"The success of this years UAE National Robotics Olympiad is mainly because of the
students and their brilliant creations which have significantly elevated the
standards of robotics since the competition started in 2006", said ASF Karim,
Managing Director, Edutech. "We are pleased to announce that the delegation who will
represent the UAE in the World Robotics Olympiad in Taiwan is a group of young,
talented people whose natural gift will be further enhanced through a special
coaching sessions from Edutech to further our chance of winning the top prize and
bringing home honour for the country," he added.
'Dubai Modern High School' beat the other teams in the Open Category with their
exemplary science fiction narrative about 'Civil Safety, Security and Emergency
Response' through carefully constructed robots. In the Regular Category entitled
'Robo Ambulating Rally', 'Our Own High School - Al Warqa'a' emerged victorious when
they successfully manoeuvred along a marked track while correctly following traffic
instructions and overcoming hurdles and obstacles. In addition to effectively
demonstrating their high-tech masterpieces, the teams also competently answered a
series of questions from the panel of expert judges that included Arif Karrani,
Faculty Engineering, Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology; Abdul Aziz Bin Suqat,
Foundation Committee Projects Officer, Institute of Applied Technology; and Kerry
Bailey, IT Consultant, ADEC Model Schools.
Ged Ryan, Associate Director and Chief Information Officer, Sharjah Higher Colleges
of Technology, said, "The UAE National Robotics Olympiad has been a truly enjoyable
and informative event which exposed high school students to robotics, which is
becoming a more important component in some of our programs at Sharjah Higher
Colleges of Technology. We are very pleased to see that so many young people are
getting serious with this specialised branch of new age technology. Sharjah Higher
Colleges of Technology considers it an honour to be a part of such an important
gathering of young minds and we are definitely in anticipation of further
competitions in the years to come."
Since WRO's launch in Singapore in 2004, the international robotic competition has
created an effective venue for high school robotics enthusiasts to further advance
their craft. In 2006, the World Robotics Olympiad featured a total of 17 countries
including UAE, Australia, South Korea, China, Japan, India, Malaysia, Thailand,
Singapore, Denmark, Russia and Iran. This year, WRO has witnessed another milestone
as countries from the Middle East such as Egypt and Qatar made their debut at the
competition.
"Edutech would also like to extend our appreciation to our partners who have helped
us in making the second UAE National Robotic Olympiad a resounding success. LEGO,
Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology, GESS and WRO have each played an integral
role in providing their resources and expertise for the benefit of robotics and its
growing popularity among the youth. The overwhelming support we have received from
our sponsors and the students have inspired us to continue with our dedication into
bringing young people closer to the world of robotics, as we look forward to a host
of highly successful events in the coming years", concluded Karim.
About Edutech:
Edutech is the leading provider of technology enabled solutions that enable Academic
Institutions and Business Enterprises like Petrochemical Industries, Banking &
Financial, Manufacturing, Healthcare & Hospitality and Government & Defense to meet
their learning and knowledge needs. Edutech combines years of experience with
technology and content to deliver rapidly deployable knowledge solutions thereby
enabling faster learning cycles, increasing access to information, and reducing
cost, efforts and investments. It helps organizations build, manage and measure
learning outcomes by providing solutions based on the comprehensive Knowledge
Solutions framework that blends content and infrastructure into a single and
seamless solution. Headquartered in Dubai, Edutech has a global presence with
offices in Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, India and US. For
more information, please visit www.edutech.com <http://www.edutech.com>.
