Dubai students robot project receives funding

Dubai students robot project receives funding

Students who created a football-playing robot which scooped top prize in a competition will receive technical and financial help to boost their skills.

The competition was run by the Shaikha Roudha Bint Ahmad Bin Juma Al Maktoum Initiative for Learning Skills Development.

The robot, which was created by grade 6 to 12 students at the Omar Bin Al Khattab Model School, was also programmed to gather samples as if it was on Mars.

Physics teacher Ayman Maamooun Al Najar, who supervised the students’ work, said the school’s Robot Scientific Club’s project has competed in and won many local and international competitions.

“Our project won first place in the UAE and seventh place in the world in different competitions. We are also taking part in another competition that will take place in Indonesia. The robot that we have plays football. We programmed the robot in order to recognise the ball through the sensors which allow it to determine where the ball and the target is,” said Al Najar.

He added that involving the students in such a programme allows them to use up their energy in a constructive way and gives them a sense of achievement.

It is the fourth project to be supported by the initiative, said Mona Al Ameri, manager of the Shaikha Roudha Bint Ahmad Bin Juma Al Maktoum Initiative for Learning Skills Development.

“The Shaikha Roudha Initiative For Learning Skills Development aims to support education and its development by supporting student projects submitted by schools. The initiative currently includes Dubai governmental schools but we will hopefully expand in the future to cover schools from all over the UAE.”

Ninety-five schools took part in the competition and 17 schools submitted school projects. Winners of the competition receive financial aid as well as technical help.

“The projects we are looking for should really support learning development and focus on problem-solving skills in order to enhance the student’s intelligence and help them in developing their skills,” added Mona.

The school also has an Astronomy Club that is supported by the Ministry of Education which collaborated with the robot project, said Jalal Abdul Rahman and Abdul Hamid Jaafar, both teachers at the school.

Grade 11 student Hamdan Al Awadi, 16, was one of the students who helped assemble the robot.

“With the guidance and supervision of our teachers we were able to assemble the robot, it was not very difficult because we looked at models we had in the past,” he said.

Grade eight student Ali Zargham, 13, is part of the school’s Astrology Club and said he was happy that his school has a strong astrology programme because he has always been interested in astrology.

Male students who took part in the initiative were awarded at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Education. Female students were awarded during a ceremony held in Zabeel, Dubai.