BD school-goers to compete world's 1st Intl Robot Olympics in Washington

FIRST Global is launching the world's first international robot Olympics for high school students in July in Washington DC, where 164 nations including teams from almost every nation in Asia will participate. 'Team Bangladesh', a 6-member group of high school students will represent Bangladesh with an aim to solve the global problems using robotics. The Bangladeshi participants include Labib Tazwar Rahman (Team Captain). Sujoy Mahmud, Azman Islam, Adrian Dip Mohanta, Shah Saqeef Imam and Laleh-naz Bergman Hossain.

Shams Jaber, the founder of The Tech Academy will be present there as team mentor and Shamsul Arefin Erfan will act as assistant team mentor.  The competition will begin from July 14 and continue to July 20 in Washington DC, USA. Feeling proud to represent their country in the global arena, the group of teenagers will wave the flag for 'Team Bangladesh' and see this competition as an opportunity to show the world that they have the knowledge and skills to become strong and able leaders of the global STEM community.

This year's competition will not only provide an opportunity for students around the world to learn and discover more about the exciting world of robotics, but will also teach them the value of teamwork and importance of gaining the trust of their peers, regardless of their place of origin, creed, religion, or race. For Team Bangladesh, "the most interesting and exciting part about FIRST Global is the prospect of meeting people from all around the world and their ideas".

Newscred Dhaka was the point of contact of FIRST Global Robotics Competition. Newscred contacted Shams Jaber, the founder of The Tech Academy, since he has been teaching robotics, electronics, and programming to school children.

Shams then short-listed and interviewed science- and robotics-savvy students from Tech Academy and other organizations at Newscred Dhaka and thus the team was formed. Team captain Labib Tazwar Rahman said, "We're currently finishing the making of our robot. The robot-kit was sent by the FIRST Global organizers from the US. But due to hassles at the Customs, we received the robot-kit 1.5 months later. By this time, other teams have made a lot of progress.

He said, "However, to recuperate from this initial setback, we've been working hard every day from early morning till evening. We worked even on Eid holidays. Hopefully, we high school students will be able to raise the Bangladeshi national flag high in this competition where 164 countries are taking part."

Talking to the Asian Age, Shams Jaber said, "Our objective is to build a robot to compete in the FIRST Global Robotics competition. The event requires us to build a robot that can collect water and contaminant elements, differentiate between the two elements using an algorithm, and dispose them at separate places.

He said, we will get bonus points if our robot can lift itself from the ground. It's a co-opetition (cooperation + competition) and in each round we form an alliance with 2 other national teams from around the world to compete against another alliance of 3 countries."

With nations from all six populated continents planning to send one team each to represent their home country at this first-of-a-kind global event, participating teams will include attendees from every corner of the world, ranging from violence-plagued regions of Africa, to the industrialized powerhouses of Europe and Asia, to rural parts of Latin and South America alike.

In an effort to inspire the youth of the world to pursue science and technology leadership and innovation, FIRST Global continues working hard to ensure that every child has the chance to obtain necessary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills. FIRST Global's vision for creating a truly global and prosperous community through science and robotics, nations like Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are among the countries that will be participating in the 2017 FIRST Global Challenge.