The Top 7 Robotics Competitions for Students in Egypt

Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of science and engineering that includes the design and application of robots, which are used in many manufacturing processes today. Teaching the basics of robotics to children and teenagers can inspire their interest in technology and make them future leaders in this field. Here are the top seven robotics competitions in Egypt held annually for young people:

1. First Lego League Junior

Photo Credit: Faraday-primary

First Lego League Jr. is designed to introduce STEM concepts to kids ages 6 to 10 while exciting them through a brand they know and love − LEGO®. Guided by adult coaches, teams up to 6 members, explore a real-world scientific problem such as food safety, recycling or energy. Then, they create a Show Me poster that illustrates their journey of discovery and introduces their team. They also construct a motorized model of what they learned using LEGO elements.

In the process, teams learn about teamwork, the wonders of science and technology, and the FIRST Core Values, which include respect, sharing, and critical thinking. At the close of each season, teams come together at Expos to strut their stuff, share ideas, celebrate, and have fun.

2. FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC)

Photo credit: fleegypt

FTC is designed for high school students ages 14-18 years to compete head to head using a sports model. Teams are responsible for designing, building, and programming their robots to compete in an alliance format. The robot kit is reusable from year-to-year and is programmed using a variety of languages.

Teams, including coaches, mentors, and volunteers are required to develop strategy and build robots based on sound engineering principles. Awards are given for the competition as well as for community outreach, design, and other real-world accomplishments.

 3. FIRST LEGO League (FLL)

Photo credit: TIEC

FIRST LEGO League (FLL®) is a competition catering for upper-primary and lower-secondary school students ages: 9-16 years. Every year, teams of up to 10 students build, program and compete with a robot, while learning about a modern problem in science and engineering and developing solutions for it.

The entire competition for the year is based around one of these themes: natural disasters, senior citizens, food health & safety, climate change, medical science, and nanotechnology. Tournaments are run with the feel of a sporting event, and teams compete like crazy while having the time of their lives. What FLL teams accomplish is nothing short of amazing.

4. RoboCupJunior Egypt

Photo credit: Nile University

RoboCup was founded in 1997 with the main goal of “developing by 2050 a Robot Soccer team capable of winning against the human team champion of the FIFA World Cup”. In the next years, RoboCup proposed several soccer platforms that have been established as standard platforms for robotics research.
RoboCupJunior is a project-oriented educational initiative that supports local, regional and international robotic events for young students ages: 9-20 years. It is designed to introduce RoboCup to primary and secondary school children, as well as undergraduates who do not have the resources to get involved in the senior leagues.

 5. ROV Competition

Photo credit: ROV Facebook page

ROV Competition is made to build new generations of Arab Rovers to let university and school students ages 10-20 years compete in designing and building ROV "underwater robot" to achieve mission underwater, which is a simulation to a real mission.

ROV Egypt Regional Competition was launched for the first time in Egypt in 2011 in cooperation with MATE Center and organized by Hadath for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The winners are qualified to participate in MATE International ROV Competition.

This competition helps the kids design a robot through a kit which includes the robot components and using it in the competition, the kids are divided into teams with the same age and compete with each other on the scale of the Arab world. 

6. The World Robot Olympiad (WRO)

Photo credit: World Robot Olympiad Deutschland on Youtube

The World Robot Olympiad (WRO) is a global robotics competition for students between the ages of 7 and 21. It brings together people from all over the world to develop their creativity and problem-solving skills through a challenging and educational robot competition. The aim of the Egyptian finals is to qualify Egyptian students to the International finals.

 7. The VEX Robotics Competition

Photo credit: Education and Technology E&T channel on Youtube

Robotics competitions for elementary through university students that tasks teams to design and build a robot using STEM skills to play against other teams in a game-based engineering challenge. It is a subset of VEX Robotics, which is, in turn, a subset of Innovation First International. This competition includes local, regional, national, and world competitions.

There are two parts of this competition, the first is Turning Point. It targets middle school, high school, and university, and it includes Standard Matches where two alliances of two teams each play against each other, a Robot Skills Challenge where one robot plays alone against the clock, Online Challenges which are unique contests using CAD, animation, essays, and more.

The second part isVEX IQ Challenge Next Level. It targets primary to secondary school. It consists of Teamwork Challenge where two teams work together to maximize their score, a Robot Skills Challenge and a STEM Research Project where students use the scientific method to research and solve a challenge.