6 Cebu Students to Compete vs. Top Robotic Teams in Qatar

Six grade school students from Cebu will represent the Philippines to compete against top robotics teams around the world in the World Robotics Olympiad (WRO) in Doha, Qatar on Nov. 5-9.

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 all are Grade 4 and 5 students from SmartKidz Enhancement Center in Danao City.

Team A won third place during the 14th Philippines Robotics Olympiad at North SM Edsa last Sept. 11 while Team B got the fifth place.

Because of the success, 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.

Along with them are 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 under the elementary category.

All of them are new in the national and international competition.

Not the first

Around 65 schools in the Philippines joined the annual competition initiated by the Department of Education and Felta-Multimedia Center.

The objective of the program is to stimulate interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines through the promotion of robotics competitions.

The program aimed to reach students with a low-cost, accessible opportunity to discover the excitement and rewards of science, technology, and engineering.

“It’s not the first time Cebu has competed in the nationals. Students from 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.

How they did it

To qualify for the WRO, the participating 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. The robot will have to be programmed and equipped with the appropriate sensors to collect the pearls.

They had 150 minutes to build and program their robot. After the two required test runs, the team scored 100 points in 27 seconds, besting 65 other participants in their category.

The children were glad to have won the competition and said it was a dream come true to represent the country for the first time.

Camaongay believes the aid and support of children’s parents and school, good team work with right mental attitude have managed themselves to win the third and fifth spot in the national competition.

Commended

The Cebu Provincial Board passed a resolution authored by PB Jude Durano-Sybico congratulating the students from Smart Kidz Enhancement Center of Danao City.

The resolution was approved unanimously during the board’s regular session last month.

Moreover, the Cebu Provincial Government will give reward money to the students for winning the competition. (by Heart Rizarri)

www.cebu.gov.ph