Team members prepare to compete in the prestigious World Robotics Olympiad 2007 in Taiwan
'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.
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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.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Kiran Kishan Singh
Marketing Manager
Edutech Middle East
P O Box 52334, Dubai, UAE
Tel: +9714 3911030
Fax: +9714 3911031
Email: kiran@edutech.com
CommuniGate Middle East
PO Box 66861, Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971 4 3988134
Fax: +971 4 3988137
Email: info@communigateme.com
Website: www.communigateme.com
© Press Release 2007
