Jamaica’s Robotics Team Heads to South Korea as UJAA Marks Decade of Support
Originally published by South Florida Caribbean News Read the original
WASHINGTON, DC — Jamaica’s robotics team will compete on the world stage in South Korea this October as the Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations (USA) Inc. marks 10 years of sponsoring the country’s participation in the FIRST® Global Challenge.
Team Jamaica Robotics is preparing for the Oct. 7-10 competition in Incheon, where young innovators from around the world will tackle challenges tied to wildfire prevention, mitigation and recovery.
The nine-member delegation includes students, coaches and a chaperone from the American International School of Kingston, Immaculate Conception High School, Knox College, St. Andrew High School for Girls and Wolmer’s Boys’ School.
Coaches Marc-Anthony Eaton and Orville Daley of Jamaica College said the students are confident, prepared to represent Jamaica and committed to the FIRST® principle of gracious professionalism.
The team enters this year’s event after a third-place finish in Panama last year. Hurricane Melissa caused significant travel delays, but the delegation reached the competition and placed third after two days of alliance-based matches.
For a decade, UJAA has helped Jamaican high school students develop technical and teamwork skills, compete internationally and represent the country in one of the world’s leading youth robotics events.
Support from UJAA members and alumni of the participating schools has sustained the program, but the organization said securing enough funding remains a continuing challenge.
The 10th FIRST® Global Challenge is built around the 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering identified by national engineering academies in the United States, United Kingdom and China. This year’s theme, “Igniting Innovation,” centers on wildfire prevention, mitigation and recovery.
UJAA President Donovan Wilson said the organization views the experience as transformative, giving students exposure to real-world problems and opportunities to help shape future solutions.
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