The FIRST Lego league introduces STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) to children aged 4 to16 through fun, hands-on experiences.
For me personally, this was one of the best learning journey’s. Our training began in January this year, our competition got postponed twice and we faced many challenges related to Covid19 protocols, and despite all the impediments, we never lost our spirit of learning and inquiry.
Every year, FLL has a theme and this year’s was ‘Cargo Connect’.
My team Starlink and I had to create an innovative project that either solved the current problems faced by the Cargo and logistics industry or to improvise it. There are four rounds of presentation- the innovation project, the robot game, the robot design, and core values.
In the regional round held at GEMS International School on 29th May, our innovation project malfunctioned a bit, machines are machines after all. The only thing that kept us going was our passion for our work. We completed the rest of the rounds to the best of our abilities.
We made it to the Nationals, being one of the five teams qualifying from Dubai.
This meant that we would have to work twice as hard, so we pulled up our socks, worked until midnight (quite literally) amidst exams, and did everything in our hands to perfect our prototype and presentation.
The national round was at GEMS Dubai American Academy on 11th June.
Every minute of hard work was worth it once we heard our name being called out as the winners of the ‘Champion award’.
I would like to thank my teammates, parents, coaches at Unique World Robotics and school for always guiding and supporting me.
Looking forward to representing the UAE in the internationals as the ‘National Champions’ to be held in Brazil in August!
– Saanvi Masalia (10F)
