Lagos State students once again displayed their apt knowledge of robotic science with what can be described as 21st century techniques at the 2018 World Robotic Olympiad Nigeria in Lagos on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the WRO Nigeria took place at the Lagos City Hall, Lagos Island, where 35 schools and 140 students from across Nigeria participated.
The 2018 WRO Nigeria serves as the qualification stage to the World Robot Olympiad coming up in Chiang Mai, Thailand in November.
The participants were drawn from across public and private schools in some selected states in Nigeria having gone through tutorials from their teachers.
The 2018 WRO Nigeria was put together by Arc Lights Foundation Academy, a programme which has been on since 2004.
Arc Light Foundation is the exclusive partners of LEGO in Nigeria and LEGO Education in West Africa, and is the organiser of the World Robots Olympiad, an annual event that draws participants from across the world.
The organisation seeks to set up a framework aimed at developing and improving the art of robotic science in Nigeria and Africa at large.
The programme was set with knowledge-based scientific trainings on robotic science and focused on refining, equipping and transforming schools, educators and parents.
The students at this year’s competition, tagged: “Food Matters,” seek to proffer solutions to the way we grow, share and consume food with the aid of robots as a means of providing scientific supports.
The task was to create robots that will solve both simple and complex tasks of providing solutions to agricultural challenges, such as pest monitoring, watering and simple farm works
The winners for the 2018 WRO Nigeria are Team Imperial Gate 1, which came first and is made up of Amara Oguamnam, Adil Umeh and Ayomide Alaba.
Team Imperial Gate II came second with Chiemezie Jeremy, Oluwasindara Olatawura and Angel Odewoye in the team.
Team Nijabot came third with Oluwataresimi Agbayangi, Theophilus Okolo and Zara Onwude in the team.
In the open category (Junior), Team Titanix came first, Team Eva Adelaja came second, while Team Bliss was third.
For the senior category, Lagos Model College, Meiran came first, Ojota Senior Secondary School, Ojota was second, while New Era Girls Collge, Shita placed third.
Speaking on the victory, the tutor for the Imperial Gate School, Lekki, Lagos, the winners of the 2018 WRO Nigeria, Olabisi Ijimakinwa, said robotic science was the way to go in solving some technological deficiency.
Ijimakinwa said: “I noticed that that since we started robotics in our school, at the end of the session, the top three in every class are robotic students.
“I also noticed that it helps them academically.
“The robotic students are always tops and more students are now getting the awareness and wants to be part of the class even the parents are now appreciative of the class.
“Robots can be used for solutions to many knotty scientific issues.
“The world is waiting for this generation to provide solutions to the world problems, while the children are busy positioning themselves to solving them.
“They are the kids from ages six to 10 and they are already with the right knowledge of the robotic science in providing the right solutions needed.”
Onome Emore, a junior student of Imperial Gate, said robotic science gave him the pleasure of solving problems, adding that it was a task he would do without supervision.
“Robotic science gives me pleasure of accomplishing task on my own and I love it so much. I do the programme on my own without supervision,” Emore said.
One of the parents, Omolade Olatawura, said she encouraged her wards in the robotic science having learnt about their interest in it.
Olatawura said: “My kids like to create anything from everything, so when the school told us about introducing LEGO, I jumped at it.
“I have watched my daughter solving issues within five minutes and creating a lot of things.
“All I have to do is to support her because that is where the world is going right now.”
Folarin Omobolanle, a Senior Secondary School III student from New Era Girls Senior Secondary School, Shitta, Surulere in Lagos, said robotic science tasked her to do extraordinary things.
For Idris Olawale, an SSII student from Lagos State Model Senior College, Meiran, Robotic Science should be appreciated more by the government through enough funding and provision of LEGO materials.
Kehinde Arapaja, Busayo Agoro and Feranmi Ogunbadejo from Concord School, Mobil, Ibadan, Oyo State are the representatives from Oyo State.
Arapaja said the LEGO knowledge was a course which must be popularised in all schools because of its benefits to the students.
NAN reports that the winners from each category will represent Nigeria at WRO, Chiang Mai, Thailand later in November.
However, certificate of participation were given to all the participants of the 2018 WRO Nigeria.