World Robot Olympiad Competition Held at Herndon

World Robot Olympiad Regional Competition, hosted by Robotics for Youth, was held on May 11th, 2019.

59 teams from Virginia, District of Columbia, and Maryland took part in the regional World Robot Olympiad (WRO) competition. The event was the second largest regional WRO competition in the country and featured nearly 160 elementary and middle school students. The event was held at the Nysmith School for Gifted from Herndon, a champion in promoting STEM. Over the last eight weeks, Robotics for Youth (RFY), a non-profit organization, had conducted workshops and mentored kids in the region to prepare for this competition.

The WRO is an annual competition to develop skills and inspire enthusiasm in STEM by bringing together teams of young people from all over the world and challenging them to use their creativity and problem-solving skills to build robots capable of completing a range of challenges. The theme of this year’s event was ‘Smart Cities’ and featured building the cities of the future.

RFY Chairman Dinesh Bhat pointed out “Hosting the World Robot Olympiad was a great testament to the progress made by RFY in supporting the development of science, technology, engineering & mathematics (STEM) skills. RFY is committed to developing such skills given their crucial importance in helping the youth achieve their ambitions, and we welcome close co-operation with our partners from the private sector.”

CapitalOne was the official sponsor for this regional event. Juniper Networks was the national sponsor for WRO. Verizon and QBurst also stepped forward to sponsor various awards. As per Ravi Veerasamy, RFY Board member, "Through partnership programs, we are working to make positive contributions in youth and develop vitally essential skills.”

Saji Sukumaran, a Board member, added “This event was about providing students with an opportunity to experience robotics and encouraging young minds to consider STEM careers to support the future generation and the transition to a knowledge-based economy. The World Robot Olympiad became a milestone event showcasing RFY as a host for regional events, and featuring the best and the brightest on the stage.”

Robotics for Youth is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization run by youth volunteers and has grown from 10 volunteers to 100 volunteers in the last four years. RFY is offering new programs and hosting a drone competition on June 9th. For more details visit https://www.roboticsforyouth.org/