Students of Riyadh Schools leave for US robotics event

Students of Riyadh Schools left the capital last week along with students from Jubail and Yanbu to Los Angeles in the United States to represent the country in the VEX Robotics World Championship that took place from April 18 to 22 in the Californian city of Anaheim. The Kingdom is participating in the finals of the competition with four teams; two teams from the Department of Education in Riyadh and a team from Jubail and Yanbu in addition to the team from Riyadh Schools. The four teams are representing the Kingdom after qualifying from the playoffs in Riyadh. They were overseen by a delegation headed by Khaled Al-Abdulsalam, acting director of the activities at the Ministry of Education. The VEX Robotics Design System offers students an exciting platform for learning about areas rich with career opportunities spanning science, technology, engineering and math. These are just a few of the many fields students can explore by creating with VEX Robotics technology. Beyond science and engineering principles, a VEX Robotics project encourages teamwork, leadership and problem solving among groups. It also allows educators to easily customize projects to meet the level of students’ abilities. The affordable VEX platform is expanding rapidly and is now found in middle schools, high schools and university labs around the globe. Robotics hobbyists also appreciate the advanced capabilities of the VEX System. VEX Team and the competition in the Kingdom received unlimited support and follow-up by Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Mohammed, minister of education, in recognition of the importance of young people. The competition aims to give participants the skills and practical experience of scientific and applied sciences of engineering, programming, electronics, and skill development, in addition to creating a competitive environment designed to build and strengthen self-confidence. As many as 1,500 teams from 45 different countries are participating in the event. Winners of the finalists will get seats at the most prestigious US universities (MIT, Harvard). The event activities will be transmitted directly through the satellite world. The VEX Robotics World Championship is a gathering of top robotics teams from around the world to celebrate their accomplishments and compete against others. The 2012 VEX Robotics World Championship will include top teams from over 230 VEX Robotics Competition tournaments happening in cities around the world from May 2011 to March 2012. Teams will play the game Gateway for the 2011-2012 season.