Young Engineers Uganda, a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education program of the African School of Innovations Science and Technology (ASIST) Ltd., wowed the world on Wednesday by winning the girl’s powered badge of honor for fielding more girls than boys at the ongoing Vex World Robotics Championship in Dallas, United States of America.
According to the organizers, the Vex World Robotics Championship is a world event that features the most brilliant young robotics enthusiasts in the world.
The Ugandan team consists of four girls and three boys, along with their three dedicated instructors.
The program aims at nurturing the next generation of Ugandan scientists, technologists, creative thinkers, and problem solvers using a robotics and LEGO curriculum endorsed by the European Commission of the European Union.
The team secured Uganda’s fourth position on the African continent during the Pan African Robotics competition in Dakar, Senegal, last year, earning them an invitation to participate in the World Robotic Championship in the United States.
“We are extremely proud of our team’s achievement in fielding more girls than boys for the Vex Worlds Championship,” said Maureen Karamagi, CEO of Young Engineers Uganda and head of the delegation.
She explained the mission of the Young Engineers in Uganda, stating that their mission is to empower and equip children in Uganda with practical implementation skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education program of the African School of Innovations Science and Technology, and they are committed to promoting gender equality in the field of robotics.
The CEO of Young Engineers Uganda revealed that the Vex World Robotics Championships will see participation from over 50 countries and over 2,200 teams from all over the world.
This makes the event a global one that brings together the brightest young minds in the field of robotics. The Ugandan team will also compete in the VEX IQ category, themed “Slapshot,” where they will work collaboratively in alliance with another team to score points using their robot that can slap or shoot discs into goal zones.
The participation of the Ugandan team not only sells Uganda to the rest of the world but also brings about oodles of opportunities, including scholarships and visits to renowned institutions such as NASA, Apple, Google, and Tesla, among others.
The kids who are participating in the championships include Lowena Mwiza, 14 years old, from Viva College School, Jinja; Mukisa Liam (12) from Mengo Secondary School; Ciara (13) from Taibah International School; Pearl (12) from Kampala Standard Primary School; and Celline (11) from Taibah International School.
Others include Samuel Kazoora (11) from Hungry Caterpillar International School and Aleem Mangalji (9) from Forest School Online.
The organizers of the Vex Worlds Championships congratulated Team Uganda for their qualification and highlighted their team composition of at least 50% girls.
