Robotics is child’s play

24 November 2008

The First Lego League, an interactive robotics challenge for young people, arrived in Northern Ireland for the first time last week. November 18, 2008 saw pupils from 18 secondary schools gather at W5 in the Odyssey, Belfast where they designed, built and programmed a robot that could perform a series of tasks linked to a research presentation on global climate change.

Engineering institutions came together to organise the First Lego League, a robotics challenge for school children
Engineering institutions came together to organise the First Lego League, a robotics challenge for school children

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) was among a partnership that was responsible for organising the robotics challenge.

Keith Chambers, IET Northern Ireland Network schools liaison officer, has been involved in bringing the league to Northern Ireland.

He said: ‘The objectives of this challenge are aligned closely with the aims of the IET’s educational initiatives; to deliver a wide range of activities that enthuse pupils about science, technology, engineering and maths subjects.

‘In particular, we welcome the partnership between industry and schools, which will serve to motivate young people, providing them with an insight into the diverse and exciting range of careers available.’

A number of local organisations sponsored teams, including FG Wilson (Engineering), ESB International, NIE, Randox Laboratories, Seagate, Thales Air Defence, Cable & Wireless, Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster.

As well as the IET, the partnership of organisations involved included Queen’s University, Invest NI, SAP Research (SAP) and W5.


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