“Di jud hindrance ang kawad-on para modaug. Kay sila naay kaugalingong kits pero kami ang migawas nga mananaug (The lack of resources isn’t a hindrance to winning. Others have their own kits, but we were the ones who emerged victorious),” Grade 10 student Esel Heeler said.
She and Marieve Aldemita of the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu High School won the first inter-school Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Festival Robotics competition.
They were given recognition last Saturday afternoon for placing first in the programming category of the competition.
Aldemita got her robot running on the last track. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
The Paref Southcrest School topped the non-programming category.
“Kasagaran nila kay pila na ka years or months nakakupot sa robot. Ang uban kay part na jud sa ilang curriculum. Kami kay ato rang Tuesday nakapadagan sa robot (Most of them have several years or months of experience in holding robots. Others have robotics in their curriculum while we got the robot to run only last Tuesday),” said Heeler, one of the students who attended the
STEM education workshop by JAM STEM-x every Wednesday afternoon since September.
JAM STEM-x is an international corporation that teaches STEM to primary and secondary students. STEM education started 15 years ago in USA, then it spread out to some Asian countries like Japan, Singapore and Korea.
“We came here to promote STEM education to make science and math education compatible with those in other countries,” Asian Association of STEM Education Academic Director Masao Ishihara said.
Ishihara expects students in STEM education to get high-paying jobs.
“Young people are really talented. What is really lacking now is an opportunity for them to learn and show their talent especially in the science area,” the Japanese owner of JAM STEM-x said.
Aside from UP Cebu High School, Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, Paref Southcrest School, Sage Prep School House, Cebu International School and St. Theresa’s College competed in the robotics festival’s programming and non-programming category.
The participants were primary and secondary students combined.
Having their laptop crashed twice rendering them uncertain to win when they got a tie with an international team from Korea, Heeler and Aldemita used their strategy to beat their opponent.
“Naay isa nga tig-code, unya naay isa nga tig-structure sa robot. While gipa-run to niyang [robot] sa isa ka track, mu-code na pud ko sa next (One is coding, while the other one is forming the robot. While the robot is running on the track, I code the program for the next track),” Aldemita said, adding that 50 percent of their score was based on the speed.
Aldemita and Heeler received a trophy, a medal and a robot from JAM STEM-x. They donated the robot to their school’s robotics club, Netizen, which they revived after three years of inactivity. /UP Cebu Masscom student Ruthy Mae Valdez