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Hisham Aljundi
Doha
QATAR National Robot Olympiad (NRO) 2017 took place at Aspire Ladies Sports Hall with the participation of over 500 students from different schools, including elementary and high schools, across Qatar on Saturday.
The NRO 2017 marks the launch of 'Maharat Qatar' (Qatar Skills), a national programme sponsored by Qatar Shell and hosted by College of the North Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q).
The programme aims to support student engagement and skills in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects and to promote the application of technology, which will enhance the learning environment for students.
Andrew Faulkner, managing director and chairman of Qatar Shell, said:"We are proud to be sponsoring Maharat Qatar 2017 with the College of North Atlantic Qatar (CNA-Q), which we believe will support Qatar's vision of nurturing the next generation of leaders in the STEM area in line with the human development pillar and Qatar National Vision 2030."
CNA-Q President Dr Ken MacLeod said,"This weekend has been truly magnificent in terms of display of talent from Qatar's best and the brightest. Giving students the opportunity to compete against their peers in robotics activities helps harness their creativity and introduces them to the wonderful world of STEM."
Maharat Qatar tests the limits of the problem solving, engineering, teamwork and programming skills of the students.
The NRO event featured four competition categories, with the winning teams qualifying to represent Qatar at the World Robot Olympiad 2017, which will be held in Costa Rica early next month.
With the support and guidance of teachers, educators and mentors, participating students spent the past year training to design and programme the best and most versatile robots they can.
During the competition, students were tasked with building and programming Lego Mindstorms robots within strict time limits.
Under Maharat Qatar, new skills development areas will be introduced over the course of the year. These new initiatives will include teacher training sessions at CNA-Q and distribution of necessary equipment to schools to engage students of all ages in STEM-related skills development, building on the successful model of NRO.
The winners in the National Robot Olympiad are: Altaawon Primary School for Girls; Al Bayan Second Primary Independent School for Girls; Aspire Academy; Hamza Bin Abdul Muttalib Independent Preparatory School; Al Khor International School, Doha Secondary Independent Boys' School; Naser Bin Abdulla Secondary Boys' School; and Qatar Independent Technical School.
