Christian Service University College Supports High School Robotics Competition
The Christian Service University College (CSUC) has teamed up with the Ghana Robotics Academy Foundation (GRAF) to organise the 2019 National Robotics competition for the middle sector on Wednesday 2 October 2019, involving high schools in Ashanti and Brong Ahafo.
The robotics competition over the years has seen participation grow and get keener with the entrance of new participants.
This year’s competition was hosted at the premises of Our Lady of Grace High School in Mamponteng, near Kumasi. To enable a smooth organisation of the competition, the Country has been divided into four sectors: Northern, Middle, Western and Eastern sectors.
Robotics incorporates a range of skills and promotes a learning environment for people with different talents. As part of their preparations, students are made to work in teams to solve specific problems provided in advance.
The design of the competition enables participants to combine creative thinking with hands-on engagement. While students employ teamwork, and engage in programming their robots to solve the problem they have been given, they develop essential skills by having to think through the problem strategically with a focus on logical reasoning, analytical reasoning, and critical thinking. The development of this ability is crucial for both academic and professional success, not limited to critical science fields, but also for non-science fields.
The competition is the first joint project involving GRAF and CSUC since the two organised a boot camp in August at CSUC that trained trainers to prepare students in robotics from the basic level to the university category.
During the current competition, CSUC prepared two teams that represented Our Lady of Grace High School. An official from CSUC also served as one of the judges to oversee the successful running of the programme.
It would be noted that in May this year, Ghana’s team prepared by GRAF won the 2019 Robofest World Championship held in Michigan, US, by beating their counterparts from the US, Japan, China, and South Korea among others. Winners of this year’s national competition will have the opportunity to represent Ghana in the World Robofest competition in 2020.