The competition runs from the 26th to the 29th of September. Though there will only be five students traveling to Greece namely: Amado Benjamin, Cadel Casimir, Christiana Walsh, Kenilee Baron, and Xaria Timothy, the team consist of several other young innovators including Jaeden Guiste, Bernisha Moreau, Celina Pinard, Dianka George, Johnpaul Itodo, Phoenix Jacques, and Robert Guiste Jr..
Greece will host a robotics competition where 190+ countries will compete in a series of team-based robotics competitions. The event will test their technical abilities, problem-solving skills, and collaboration. It’s also an excellent opportunity for young STEM enthusiasts to join forces with thousands of other students of various backgrounds, ethnicities, and religions.
The host organization, FIRST Global, is a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity and its mission is to inspire leadership and innovation in youth from all nations by empowering them through education in STEM. The belief is that by nurturing cross-cultural communication and cooperation among pre-university students globally, through STEM, they are empowered to collectively tackle the world’s most pressing challenges and invent solutions that improve quality of life for all. The competition essentially uses robotics to facilitate students with the self-confidence, skill sets, imagination, courage, and vision to do important things.
The students attend various secondary and tertiary institutions around Dominica including the Dominica State College, Academix School of Learning, Portsmouth Secondary School, and Castle Bruce Secondary School and they are some of the most committed students in Dominica in their various academic disciplines. At school, they study Information Technology, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Technical Drawing, Math, Physics, Integrated Science, Biology, and Chemistry.
The team is led by mentor Kodie Jean-Jacques and assistant mentor Odessa Dinnard.
In addition to the Ministry of Education, the team is proudly sponsored by their platinum sponsor International Trading Standard (ITS) Limited, and other sponsors, The National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC), 767.Dev, The Pemberton Foundation, Corp EFF Insurance Company Ltd., The National Cooperative Credit Union, Bel Lavi Villa, Flow Dominica, Jaydees Naturals, and Helena’s Photo Studio.
