More than 180 countries will come together in Geneva from 13th to 16th
October to participate in the 2022 FIRST Global Challenge under the
theme Carbon Capture.
This year, Antigua and Barbuda will be represented by Team Dadlibots
which is made up of members Teyanna Nathaniel (Leader), Deshini Charles
(Programmer), Leyla Reid (Designer) and Ethan Bailey (Engineer).
Each year, FIRST Global invites nations to compete in a STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) themed game that is focused on
addressing various challenges facing the planet.
Participants engage in 14 Grand Challenges of Engineering in an effort
to foster understanding and cooperation among 14 – 18-year-old secondary
school students as they use their abilities and collaborate to solve
problems and safeguard their future.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Team Dadlibots were selected from among the
participants in the STEM InFuSed (Innovative Future Sustained) Youth
Camp hosted by the Ministry of Education and Sports this summer period
at UWI Five Islands Campus. More than 250 students were exposed to
emerging technologies and potential career opportunities during the
camp.
FIRST Global, an education-focused non-profit inspiring science and
technology leadership and innovation in young people from all nations
through the sport of robotics, has launched the challenge for the 2022
season — Carbon Capture. The environment theme invites FIRST Global
teams to reimagine the future of Earth’s climate by facing the global
issue of climate change.
Each team receives a standard kit of parts with which to build a robot
capable of competing on the game field at the 2022 FIRST Global
Challenge. In the Carbon Capture game, shifting global alliances of six
national teams work together to capture and store carbon, demonstrating
the collective effort required to protect our shared atmosphere. They
then divide into regional alliances to focus on local efforts for
long-term storage of CO2 to slow the effects of climate change.
“Climate change is a global problem. Tackling it requires the
cooperation of everyone,” said founder of FIRST Global, Dean Kamen. “By
engaging the world’s youth on this pressing issue, FIRST Global is an
example of the power of investment and teamwork to make a positive
impact. Technology is the answer to climate change.”
Since the organisation’s inception in 2017, the FIRST Global website
says it “has inspired millions of students, mentors, schoolmates and
community members across 196 nations to leverage STEM to engage with
issues including providing access to clean water, improving energy
infrastructures, cleaning the world’s oceans, combating a global
pandemic, and more”.
Here at home, students who are interested in STEM education and becoming
members of Team Dadlibots can become members of the local robotics
association by registering at www.antiguabarbudarobotics.org or
following the movement on social media by sear the handle
@antiguabarbudarobotics
