Today, the 15th Schools Robotics Championship, organized by the Qatar Science Club of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, kicked off today, with the participation of male and female students from 160 public and private schools, in Lusail Hall.
The opening of the tournament was attended by Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Mr. Abdul Rahman Musallam Al Dosari, Advisor to the Minister of Sports and Youth, and a number of officials in the two ministries. The three-day Schools Robot Championship aims to spread the culture of robots and their role in education locally and in the Arab world. It also aims to develop the spirit of creativity among participants in the field of robotics. About 1,600 male and female students from 160 public and private schools participate in it.
The Schools Robot Championship includes the traditional competitions that are held every year: robot for youngsters (Discovery), robot for youngsters (Explorer) and / line tracking in both its beginner and advanced sections, collecting balls in both its beginner and advanced branches, the sumo competition also in its beginner and advanced branches, and the innovation competition ( Research and Programming) and the FLL competition, in addition to new competitions that will be held for the first time in the tournament this year: the robot arm competition, which aims to design and program mobile robots capable of carrying specific weights and transferring them to build a specific shape as quickly as possible, and the drone competition, which aims To prepare young people and youth for more future professions and jobs, and the Football Robotics Competition, which aims to teach and apply science, engineering, mathematics and computer programming in a highly skilled manner.
In his speech, which was included in the tournament booklet, His Excellency Mr. Salah bin Ghanim Al-Ali, Minister of Sports and Youth, said that the Ministry seeks to support and guide young people and invest their inclinations and skills in order to develop the integrated national personality based on the Ministry’s vision. "Active and responsible youth with a sense of patriotism, and a community practicing sports".
His Excellency added that the Ministry realizes that the effectiveness of young people and youth in society and their eagerness to carry out their responsibilities requires great work based on developing skills and developing capabilities in various fields, in addition to raising their level of awareness of the role assigned to them towards the development and advancement of their society, explaining that the Ministry seeks help to achieve Its vision and carrying out its mission with a set of institutional values, and that the most important of these values ​​is the value of cooperation and partnership that consolidates the spirit of one team and seeks integration between the various groups and parties of society. Therefore, the successful partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has created a scientific and practical environment in the field of science, and we hope that May God grant you success and championship success. In a similar speech, Her Excellency Mrs. Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi, Minister of Education and Higher Education, said that the fifteenth edition of the Schools Robotics Championship 2023 carries an extended educational legacy that has its place in the hearts of the competitors, and that the championship has a role in motivating students to go beyond the ordinary and the familiar. And encourage them to raise the ceiling of thinking outside the known frameworks.
Her Excellency added: We aspire that our students will be lifelong learners, armed with knowledge, and characterized by flexibility, passion and creativity, by enhancing their achievements and ensuring their continuity and providing them with the skills of the twenty-first century, the most important of which are technological and digital skills, without neglecting the instilling, developing and strengthening of the values ​​of national identity in them. . Which is achieved in this tournament.
Her Excellency the Minister of Education and Higher Education affirmed that this tournament and other tournaments have a great impact on the hearts of students, as it contributes to their scientific and social development, instills in them self-confidence, and deepens in them faith in their ability to compete globally and achieve what they aspire to, as they realize life developments and understand the needs of the labor market to contribute to Advancing the development wheel in our country, praising the role of male and female teachers who represent role models that provide students with inspiration and motivation to develop themselves in pursuit of excellence, appreciating the role of the Ministry of Sports and Youth represented by the Qatar Scientific Club, as well as the Information Technology Department of the Educational Guidance Department of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, on the Their appreciated efforts in supporting educational and educational activities.
During the opening of the 15th Robot Schools Championship, Eng. Rashid Al-Rahimi, Executive Director of the Qatar Scientific Club and Chairman of the Supreme Organizing Committee of the Championship, indicated that robot technologies began at the beginning of the twentieth century and spread until they became part of our daily lives and some used them previously without going into the details of their installation, programming and restoration. Run it, explaining that these tournaments establish a generation capable of competition and ready for future jobs that depend mostly on modern technology, robots and artificial intelligence.
He explained that the Scientific Club, from the first edition of the tournament until the fifteenth edition, took it upon itself to develop it in quantity, quality and quality, as the number of teams and the number of participants were increased to accommodate the largest possible number of students and schools, and the numbers and categories of competitions were expanded to include new competitions with the aim of empowering students and developing their skills. In dealing with the new challenges, noting the addition of three new competitions, to become an exceptional version with its advantages, as the number of teams increased by 50% compared to the previous version, as the participating teams reached 550 teams, in addition to an increase of 30% in the number of participating students, whether from public schools. Or private, where the number of students reached 1,600 students.
The Director of the Qatari Scientific Club added that the fifteenth edition is witnessing an increase in the number of competitions, as 3 main competitions have been added, namely: (The Robot Arm Challenge, the Drone Challenge, and the Football Challenge), indicating that the Arab Robotics Association will be officially addressed to add these competitions. In the competitions of the Arab Championship in the future, promising to increase the categories of competitions in the coming years, as part of a plan developed by the Qatar Scientific Club in coordination with the Organizing Committee in order to give it more competitiveness and raise the spirit of challenge among students.
He explained that this tournament aims for creativity and innovation to be part of the lives of our students, and contribute significantly to expanding their perceptions, opening new horizons for them, giving them confidence in their abilities and increasing their dose of motivation, which is consistent with the strategic objectives of the Qatar Science Club, which derives its goals and vision from the vision of The Ministry of Sports and Youth, and also this goal is in line with the goals of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, appreciating the efforts of the two ministries in supporting the championship and their constant keenness to provide the best programs and activities that meet the aspirations of young people and youth from the future sons of Qatar.
In his speech, Engineer Rashid Al-Rahimi praised many promising Qatari models of young men and women who have passion and love for science and knowledge in the field of science and technology, which had an impact on determining their successful future path, presenting some models in this regard, including the distinguished student, member of the Science Club, Sheikha Al-Hitmi, and engineer Shamma. Al-Buainain is a software engineer at the Scientific Club, who gave a brief definition of their scientific experiences, expressing his thanks to the tournament’s supporters, especially the Social and Sports Activities Support Fund (Daam), the official sponsor of the tournament, and all the cooperating parties for the success of the tournament.
In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the sidelines of the tournament, Eng. Rashid Al-Rahimi, Executive Director of the Qatar Scientific Club, said that the Qatar Science Club works to promote scientific culture and has its annual agenda that targets various groups, from children and youth to professional inventors, as the club offers programs Technology workshops and applied projects, in addition to acquiring manual and digital manufacturing skills to implement projects in a way that enhances their culture of manufacturing and innovation, based on four basics: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, indicating the club’s keenness to constantly update its system to help inventors implement their projects from one stage to another. The idea and even the implementation to be a product in the markets.
He added that such competitions lay the foundation for building a generation that relies on scientific thinking to be the future generation. By qualifying them, they are trained and qualified to simulate artificial intelligence, and the ability to keep pace with the labor market, pointing out that the Scientific Club through the Makers Oasis provides a group of well-equipped manual and digital laboratories and workshops. With the latest equipment and measuring and manufacturing devices for the purpose of education and enabling community members to design, manufacture and innovate for most projects, it also contributes to training and exchange of experiences between interested and specialists, and provides spaces organized according to technical specialties, including electronics, software, robotics, mechanics and manual manufacturing.
For his part, Mr. Fawaz Al-Musifri, Director of the Youth Affairs Department at the Ministry of Sports and Youth, said that the new thing in the robot championship for this year is the addition of some tournaments related to drones and the electronic arm, as the tournament includes 13 competitions, indicating that the winners of the tournament in its last edition participated in international forums and were able to achieve Achievements, stressing that the outputs of this championship benefit students at the level of foreign participation to represent the country in such major demonstrations.
Al-Musaifri added that the tournament enhances the capabilities of young people to use the robot, which is no longer just a game, but has become a major contributor to the development of young people’s skills technologically through programming and the ability to control and help them understand and design these robots.
He explained the existence of a strategy at the Ministry of Sports and Youth to increase interest in science, which is what the Scientific Club is doing, which achieves the vision of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, which is: "Active and responsible youth with a sense of patriotism, and a community practicing sports".
