Ghana to host first-ever robotics competition for students

Ashesi University College and The MasterCard Foundation will be hosting the first-ever robotics programme and competition for secondary school students in Ghana.

The event, Ashesi Robotics Experience (ARX), will take place from August 6-10 2012 and it aims to encourage African high school students to study computer science, engineering and other market-relevant fields at the university level.

ARX will be attended by Mahama Ayariga – Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Tertiary Education, as well as Ashesi’s local and international partners.

In a statement, the MasterCard Foundation said 60 students from high schools across Ghana have been selected and will participate in weeklong workshops during the event at Ashesi campus.

“Students will work in teams, learn to build and programme robots, and participate in computational thinking activities. Throughout the week, they will be mentored by a team of Ashesi faculty, staff and students,” the Foundation said.

ARX culminates with a competition, in which students must complete a set of challenges using their robots and the winning team will be announced at the ARX graduation ceremony, the statement added.

The core of the ARX programme, according to Ashesi President Dr. Patrick Awuah, is to encourage students to improve their science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

“Programming a robot requires knowledge of coding, problem-solving, algorithm writing and understanding of basic physics. We hope students walk away excited about math and science and thinking about how they can apply it in their future studies,” Dr Awuah said.

“By engaging high school students in a robotics programme, Ashesi is encouraging young people to develop the technical and soft skills needed for Africa’s new knowledge economy,” said Reeta Roy, President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation.

By Ekow Quandzie