Six grade school students from Cebu are representing the Philippines in the World Robotics Olympiad (WRO) in Doha, Qatar that started last November 5 and ends today, November 9.
Team A members Andre Perez, Trisha Nicole Alejandrino and John Lechter Alerta and Team B members Prinze Charsev Camaongay, Jose Mario Nudalo, and Zowee Mhey Aquino are Grade 4 and 5 students from SmartKidz Enhancement Center in Danao City.
Team A won third place in the 14th Philippines Robotics Olympiad at North SM Edsa last Sept. 11 while Team B ranked fifth place.
Perez, Alejandrino and Alerta together with their coach Galatico “RD” Camaongay III will head to Doha, Qatar to join the Philippine delegation for the annual WRO.
They were joined by Elijah Iligan, Priam Ortega and John Cartilla, Grade 4 students from Caridad C. Labe Center for Excellence in Lapu-Lapu City, who won first place in the elementary category.
Sixty-five schools in the Philippines joined the annual competition initiated by the Department of Education and Felta-MultiMedia Center.
The program aims to stimulate interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines through the promotion of robotics competitions.
“It’s not the first time Cebu has competed in the nationals. Students from the Science and Technology Education Center in Lapu-Lapu City started winning in 2010 and have been competing globally in countries like South Korea, Russia and Malaysia,” said Camaongay who teaches Science and Robotics.
“The students applied what they have learned in school. As their coach, what I do is guide them to solve the problem,” he added.
In order to qualify for the WRO, the students had to design a robot that investigates and explores different hostile environments. For their category, the challenge was to build a robot that can dive and explore under the sea for pearls.
After the two required test runs, the team scored 100 points in 27 seconds, besting 65 other participants in their category.
The Cebu Provincial Board (PB) passed a resolution congratulating the students from Smart Kidz Enhancement Center of Danao City.
The Cebu provincial government will also give cash reward to the students for winning the international robotics competition./PIO