Ghana Robotics Academy competition starts September 28

The Ghana Robotics Academy Foundation (GRAF) has released the competition calendar for the Robotics Inspired Science Education (RISE) competition for students in Senior High Schools and Colleges which starts on Friday, September 28 at the Pastoral Centre, Tamale.

According to a press statement issued by the GRAF, the decision to put together the competition stems from how Science and Robotics education has become indispensable in the world currently.

The statement adds that the contest is aimed at motivating and inspiring the next generation of Ghanaians’ interest and participation in science and technology.

Dr Yaw Okraku-Yirenkyi, the founding member of the Ghana Robotics Academy Foundation and the country representative for World Robot Olympiad (WRO) and ROBOFEST World Championships indicated that “this competition offers a lot of opportunities for participants to employ critical thinking, coupled with scientific principles in an attempt to solve problems”.

"The competition has two (2) challenges namely; The Autonomous Rescue Challenge (ARC) and the Multi-Grain Colour Sorter Challenge (MGCS). The Autonomous Rescue Challenge competition mirrors real life-threatening situation where “victims or valuable items” are situated in a mine tunnel," the statement said.

"With the clock ticking, each team’s robot competes by demonstrating they have the best robot design and programming skills to rake in the points in the shortest possible time. The Multi-Grain Colour Sorter Challenge targets Ghana’s Agricultural sector by inviting young minds to build a robot to sort a container full of a unique mix of Ghanaian grains such as maize, kidney beans, cocoa beans etc".

The Competition dates and venues are as follows:

• Northern Zone (Tamale): Friday, September 28 [PASTORAL CENTRE]

• South Eastern Zone (Accra): Saturday, September 29 [ACCRA ACADEMY -SENIOR SCHOOL]

• Middle Belt (Kumasi): Wednesday, October 3 [YTD]

• South Western (Cape-Coast): Saturday, October 6 [ST. AUGUSTINE'S COLLEGE]

The GRAF is hopeful that competing teams will demonstrate a high sense of intellect and determination to see to fruition this competition and its objectives.

Interested parties who would like to sponsor their Primary, Junior and Senior High School pupils/students should contact GRAF on +233 20 222 0592 or email [email protected] for further information.

About GRAF

The Ghana Robotics Academy Foundation was founded by Dr Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu in 2011 as a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to motivating and inspiring the next generation of Ghanaians interest and participation in science and technology.

Ghana Robotics Academy Foundation will pioneer science education through administering hands-on robotics workshops and competitions throughout Ghana for Junior Secondary Schools, Senior Secondary Schools and Colleges.

The impetus behind this dedication to robotics education is that in Europe, North America and Asia robotics teams are catching on with students, igniting their passion for technology, engineering, and fever-pitched competition. Demonstrating that robotics workshops are an ideal way to captivate young minds and stimulate critical thinking.