At least 16 schools from across the country have convened at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Bulawayo to compete in the World Robot Olympiad Zimbabwe.
The inaugural event is set to run for a week, with the winner to be announced on Friday.
Each school, with a team of three students, will build a project, and the best team will represent the country at the international competition to be held in Turkey in November.
Victoria Nxumalo, Founder and Director of Girls in Stem Trust and the National Coordinator for the World Robot Olympiad Zimbabwe, described the program as an exciting event where young people will develop various robotic solutions to help their communities.
“We are excited to be at this inaugural event. This is an international hackathon competition where our young people will engage in robotics and artificial intelligence to create solutions necessary for our different communities,” said Nxumalo.
“The response from schools has been quite positive. We have 16 teams of three students each from around the country vying for first place, and they will represent the country at the international final in Turkey in November 2024. The participants are between the ages of 10 and 18 from both primary and secondary schools. We are excited to see what the next four days have in store for us.”
Nxumalo mentioned that their various partners include Google, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Camden Education Trust, Irish Aid, Econet, NUST, Telco, and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
Lawrence Mkwala, the Director of Education Services for Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, praised the program for enhancing science and technology education in primary and secondary schools.
“This is a critical event in our education sector. We have students here working on different innovations, creating various projects with the resources they have to advance the cause of science,” he said.
“Even in our curriculum, we strive to enhance science teaching. We want to advance issues of science. As a country, we don’t want to lag behind in terms of science and technology. The president has always emphasized that science is the way to go.”
Mkwala said the ministry looks forward to seeing what the learners will have built during their presentations on Friday.
“We hope this event will grow into something bigger in our country. We expect to see great projects and amazing presentations on Friday,” he said.
“We also hope this will enhance their research skills, as the program involves a lot of research before they develop their projects. As a ministry, we are really excited.”
