ShareKUWAIT: Zain and Sabah Al Ahmad Center for Giftedness and Creativity (SACGC) – a center of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), have expressed their pride in the win achieved by the team from the Computer Science Department, College of Science, Kuwait University, who brought home the Build Award from the VEX Robotics World Championship 2024 held recently in the United States.
The champions were welcomed at Kuwait International Airport by Acting Dean of the College of Science and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at Kuwait University Dr Mohammed Hussain bin Sabt, Zain Kuwait Chief Corporate Affairs and Relations Officer Waleed Al Khashti, and Sabah Al Ahmad Center for Giftedness and Creativity General Manager Neda Al Dehani.
The Kuwait University team - Abdullah Al Jaber, Abdulwahab Al Obaid, Abdulrahman Al Dughaim, and Osama Hassan, under the supervision of Dr. Noura Al Jeri – is the first university-level team from the Middle East to claim an award at the VEX Robotics World Championship 2024 (out of 15 awards). The team was among 120 university-level teams participating in the competition from around the world.
The team won the Build Award after meticulously designing a robot with high attention to detail so that was competently capable of competing in the World Championship. Criteria for this award included durability, strength, reliability, and safety. In addition, team members had to show teamwork, effective communication, professionalism, and thorough understanding of the build process. The team’s participation in the World Championship came after they qualified from the Kuwait National Robotics Competition (KNRC) held early this year. It was organized by the Computer Science Department, College of Science, Kuwait University in partnership with Zain and Sabah Al Ahmad Center for Giftedness and Creativity, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
Zain, SACGC, and Kuwait University are proud of all six teams qualified from KNRC who represented Kuwait in the World Championship, including middle school, high school, and university levels. Reaching this international arena is a testament to Kuwaiti young people’s talent and creativity, and affirms the fact that they are more than capable to compete with their peers from around the globe. This international experience has also contributed to growing the students’ passion for technology, and will encourage them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), skills that are prioritized by today’s job markets.
In addition, this step was a direct outcome of the fruitful partnership between the local public and private sectors to empower the next generation of innovators in Kuwait. The Kuwait National Robotics Competition (KNRC) featured 32 teams, with 170 students from 11 high schools, 13 middle schools, and 6 universities across private and public academic institutions. Over 40 volunteers helped organize the competition, along with a panel of 8 judges from Kuwait University, the Kuwait Technical College (KTECH), and private sector experts.
This partnership came under the umbrella of Innovation Nation, the initiative under which all of Zain’s innovation and entrepreneurship programs fall, with a focus on STEM areas. The initiative mainly targets young people and entrepreneurs and aims to foster a digitally capable generation. This announcement adds to the long list of programs and initiatives presented and supported by Zain and SACGC under their strategic partnership. The collaboration focuses on a number of strategic pillars and sustainable goals like supporting tech innovation, empowering entrepreneurs and startups, encouraging creativity, investing in the digital skills of young people, and more.
