Jamaica robotics team selected ahead of World Robotics Olympics in Greece
Published:Monday | September 9, 2024 | 12:06 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
The team to represent Jamaica at the upcoming Robotics Olympics in Greece has been selected.
Schools represented on the 2024 team delegation are the American International School of Kingston, Campion College, Hillel Academy, Immaculate Conception High School, Kingston College, and Wolmer’s Boys’ School.
The team comprises five students, two coaches, one additional student and one additional coach, making a total of nine people.
However, the president of the New York-based non-profit Jamaica Union of Alumni Associations (UJAA) Donavan Wilson said the association is still in need of some US$20,000 to cover the expenses of the participants at the Olympics.
“Over the past seven years, Team Jamaica Robotics has had the support and sponsorship of UJAA and its 64 member alumni associations in the diaspora. The cost and undertaking have increased as the competition travels around the world. Despite air travel subsidy from FIRST, UJAA needs help in raising US$20,000 as they work towards assuring that this incredible opportunity for our young innovators to showcase their skills internationally becomes a reality,” he said.
Jamaican high school students are in the throes of preparing to join students from more than 190 countries in the FIRST Global Challenge 2024, also known as the Robotics Olympics, in the home of the Olympics – Athens, Greece.
The eighth staging of the FIRST Global Challenge runs from September 26 to 29.
“Since the inception of this annual event in 2017, UJAA been committed to ensuring that our students are prepared to not just participate in this Robotics Olympics, but also to enjoy the experience of being ambassadors on the world stage. Each year, our Jamaican team of students has proven that Jamaica is ‘likkle but tallawah’ by taking home at least one of the 19 awards of excellence given annually,” said Wilson.
With the Robot Kit in hand, preparation for all aspects of the competition is taking place in the Corporate Area. By bringing the world together with the shared mission of this year’s theme, ‘Feeding the Future’, FIRST Global and its partners in government and the private sector are fostering a global community of innovators dedicated to creating a brighter tomorrow for all.