The American School of Doha team has been adjudged as champion at the ‘3rd Qatar National Robot Olympiad’ (QNRO) – an annual robotics event, which was hosted this year by Edutech, a leading provider of educational solutions and services, together with Qatar Independent Technical School (QITS). The competition, which was held at the QITS campus in Doha yesterday (October 25, 2009) was the official selection ground for the team that will represent the country at this year’s ‘World Robot Olympiad’ (WRO) to be held in South Korea from November 06 to 08, 2009. Presenting the winner’s LEGO brick trophy and certificates to the winning students were Mr. Abdulla Al Aziz Al Sahlawi, Manager Corporate Training, Qatar Petroleum; Mr. Mohammed Bahlool, General Manager, QITS, and Mr. Harish Nair, Head Business Development, Edutech Qatar.
Supported by the WRO Committee, LEGO Education and Qatar Petroleum, and attended by representatives from the Supreme Education Council, Qatar University, Qatar Foundation and ICT QATAR, the competition was participated in by a total of 18 teams from leading high schools across the country. Among the participating institutions were Al Khor International School, Khalid Bin Walid School, Hamza Independet School, Bilial Bin Rabeh School, Doha College, American School Doha, Qatar Academy, Mozah Bint Mohammed, Doha Independent School, and Qatar Independent Technical School.
“We congratulate the American School of Doha team for their deserving win, after garnering the highest score on the tasks and proving their exceptional creative and technical skills in the field of robotics,” said Mohammed Bahlool. “The significant interest of young students in participating in this undertaking underlines the growing relevance of robotics in creating future scholars in the all-important realms of the sciences and technology. We are also very proud to have become a part of this outstanding initiative, and we would like to commend our partner Edutech, as well as all the organisations who have provided us with support to ensure the success of this competition.”
“This year’s competition has been intense, and it was truly a glorious achievement for the American School of Doha team to take home the top prize. We are very proud of this success, which is the result of the enthusiasm of the students and the collaborative efforts of our sponsors, which include Holmes Glenn Qatar, Consolidated Gulf Company, Qatar Computer Services, Fal Travel Mart and Amwaj – our hospitality partners. We would also like to thank the jury members – Dr. Theodore Chiasson, Dean of Information Technology, CNAQ; Mr.Yousif. B. Al Tahir, Head General Skills, Qatar Petroleum; and Dr. Uvais Quidwai, Asst. Professor of Computer Engineering, Qatar University, for lending their expertise to this initiative. Finally, we want to wish the Qatar team all the very best for the ‘WRO 2009’ in Korea,” added Harish Nair.
Al-Khor International School (British Stream) emerged as the winner of last year’s competition and was sent to compete at the ‘WRO 2008’ in Yokohama, Japan. Established in 2002 in Singapore, the ‘World Robot Olympiad’ is an annual event that gathers talented young robotics enthusiasts from various countries to exhibit their robotics and creative skills under multiple categories. The event has been to Thailand, China, Taiwan, and Japan, and has been established as the premier robotics event for middle school students across the globe.
“We have been one of the driving forces behind the ‘Qatar National Robot Olympiad’ since its initial staging, and we are proud of the success it has seen only three years since it was launched. QNRO has given many aspiring, young and talented students an outlet for their creativity and an opportunity to show the world their ability and passion to excel in robotics. We would like to thank QITS for another successful collaboration, the government and private organisations who are consistently supporting us, and most importantly, all the students and the schools who have participated this year,” concluded ASF Karim, CEO, Edutech.