Three girls from Olievenhoutbosch school to represent SA in Global Robotics Challenge
The girls say they started building their robot immediately after their first team meeting which took place at the end of July this year.
Three Olievenhoutbosch Secondary School learners will be jetting off to Geneva in Switzerland to represent the country in the first-ever Global Robotics Challenge.
Here they will be competing with other young girls who will be showcasing their engineering skills in an annual robotics competition.
The competition is set to take place from October 13-16.
The team’s manager, Roxanne Reddy, said she felt honoured to be managing a team of such amazing and enthusiastic individuals who were so full of life.
“I am very proud of our team. I can’t wait for them to show the world what they have to offer,” she said.
“Being involved with science technology engineering mathematics (STEM) and contributing positively to the lives of these young future leaders is an honour to me.”
One of the participants, Kayla Naicker, told Rekord she was privileged to have been selected to be a part of the team.
“We are very excited to see how we do,” she said.
Fellow team member Francina Bridget Maphaka was also very excited to take part in such a world competition, “which allows us as the youth to change the world for the better in situations such as global warming and climate change”.
Reddy said applicants were chosen based on their interest in STEM as well as working with the school principal and educators from Olievenhoutbosch Secondary School.
“We visited the school and presented the concept. Students applied and based on their knowledge, experience, and interest in STEM, together with the school, we selected the most deserving students.”
The girls said they started building their robot immediately after their first team meeting, which took place at the end of July this year.
“We mostly worked on it during the weekends and will complete it by the first week of October,” they said.
Reddy said they felt proud as the SpringBots organisation to have been recognised internationally.
SpringBots South Africa is an NPO that uses STEM education to uplift the youth and community.
“We are especially proud that we have now put together our first-ever all-girls team that will demonstrate that we too can do it,” she added.
The trip has been funded by a local company named Prommac. All costs relating to the registration fee of $10 000, all flights, and accommodation costs were paid in full.
“Jason English and his CEO Dany de Baros, who runs Prommac, have fully funded the team.”
The FIRST Global Robotics World Championships is an annual robotics competition. Teams from around the world compete on an international stage, whilst raising awareness about global problems and technological developments. Over 160 countries gather to build robots, build international relations and try solving global problems by using skills learnt from STEM education.
This year’s theme challenges FIRST Global teams to reimagine the future of Earth’s climate.
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