INSPIRING YOUNG INNOVATORS
WRO’s chairman Eugene Zhang said the competition aims to give young innovators like Skylar and Elon opportunities for hands-on learning and problem-solving, and to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education worldwide.
Its first edition was held in 2004 at the Singapore Science Centre, with about a dozen nations and territories taking part, Mr Zhang said.
Today, the WRO has expanded into a global event involving more than 90 countries and over 70,000 young participants each year.
The number of participating countries from Africa, for instance, has grown from five in 2020 to 14 this year.
The event’s Future Innovators category encourages students to design robots with a meaningful impact.
Among the entries was one Zimbabwean team that developed an AI-powered voice assistant to support visually impaired users.
Mr Zhang pointed to RoboBuddy as another example, as it helps children build healthier screen habits.
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