Kab bin Zeed Primary School has been announced as the winner of the first Oman ‘National Robot Olympiad’ (NRO) - an annual robotics event, which was jointly hosted by Edutech, a leading educational solutions provider in the region and the Oman Ministry of Education. The winning team defeated the students from Al Sheikh Hamdan Bin Khamis Al Youssify Primary School, who placed second. The trophies and certificates were handed over to the winning students in a ceremony held on April 29, 2010 by Dr. Salem Al Rozeky, Executive Manager of Information Technology, Ministry of Education at the Al Imam Jabir bin Zed Boys School. Supported by LEGO Education and the WRO Committee, the competition has produced the official Oman team to be sent to this year’s ‘World Robot Olympiad’ (WRO), which will be held in Manila, the Philippines.
A total of 16 teams battled it out for the prestigious title and a chance to represent the Oman in the international robotics competition. Among the participating teams, Kab bin Zeed Primary School garnered the highest points in the Open Category, which required them to assemble a robot following the theme ‘Robot to Promote Tourism’ and demonstrate their creation’s unique capabilities both in a verbal and written presentation. Students from both government and private schools in Muscat and other districts with an interest in robotics participated in the inaugural competition.
“Edutech has been hosting the ‘National Robot Olympiad’ in several Gulf countries since 2007, and we are proud of the success we have seen here today in Oman,” said ASF Karim, CEO, Edutech. “We wish to congratulate Kab bin Zeed Primary School for winning the top prize, and we are looking forward to seeing them succeed in the upcoming world championship. We also would like to thank the Oman Ministry of Education, LEGO Education and the WRO Committee for helping make this event possible, as well as everyone who participated in the competition.”
The entire contest had proven to be as exciting as anticipated, with students from government and private schools in Oman showing exemplary spirit during the contest. The event attracted young scientists, which is in line with the event’s aims of advancing robotics technology within the academic community and among the younger population. The winning team has expressed their excitement to compete at the ‘World Robot Olympiad’, which will gather talented young robotics enthusiasts from various countries to exhibit their robotics and creative skills under multiple categories.
“The large number of participants in the first Oman NRO underlines the strong interest of Omani students and educators in the field of robotics. We are very proud to be actively involved in this initiative, which holds tremendous potential to include robotics in the curriculum of local schools. This, we believe, is an important step towards a more focussed education system in Oman, and will further enhance students’ science and technology skills,” concluded Karim.
