In order to increase the interest of young people in the field of science and technology, this year high school students participated in the FIRST® Robotics Competition (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), which has been organized by the FIRST® Foundation for 31 years in the United States and by the Fikret Yuksel Foundation since 2018 in Turkey. young people will build their Energy Themed Robots. The competition is organized annually in seasons and every year it follows current developments in the world with the contributions of different theme sponsors operating on a global scale. It offers high school students the opportunity to work as a start-up company and to seek solutions to industrial problems affecting the whole world.

The 2023 theme presentation of the competition was announced to the whole world at the same time with an event broadcast live by the FIRST® Foundation on January 7, 2023, and this year, as every year, it created great excitement among the youth.

In the 2023 theme of the competition, the use of energy in increasingly complex industrial processes is foregrounded, and robots used by students, both autonomously and manually, are asked to complete the tasks given in limited time. The theme of the competition has been designed by considering the increasing rate of robotization in industrial processes and the battery limits of robots, and the participants will be able to interact with current problems at the high school age and have the opportunity to prepare themselves for the world of the future with the solutions they find.

Turkey also hosts the international competition, which aims to raise young people as confident and creative leaders of the future in these fields through programs that include science, technology, mathematics and engineering. FIRST® aims for high school students to learn team spirit, cooperation and winning together by focusing on the process rather than the result. At FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC), high school students will design and produce their robots on the theme of energy, within the determined games and rules. At the same time, it will create a sustainable team by creating its own business plans and finding resources.

Intense Interest in the FIRST® Robotics Competition in Turkey

The tournament, which will be attended by 3350 teams from more than 30 countries around the world, has been held in Turkey since 2018 with the support of the Fikret Yuksel Foundation. In the 2022 Season, more than 6000 students were hosted in 3 events in Turkey. In addition to more than 120 local teams from 16 provinces (Ankara, Antalya, Aydın, Bursa, Diyarbakır, Eskişehir, İstanbul, İzmir, Karabük, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Manisa, Mersin, Ordu, Tekirdağ) in events in Turkey for the year 2023 Teams from Bulgaria, China, Croatia, India, Kosovo, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom will also compete at the events in Turkey. After 3 separate tournaments to be held in Turkey, the teams that stand out with their robot performance and social responsibility projects will be entitled to participate in the World Championship, which will be held in Houston, the United States, on April 19 – 22.

Volunteers support the realization of activities in many areas, from the planning to the management of the event run by the Fikret Yüksel Foundation in Turkey, while the sponsors support the leaders of the future by investing in both teams and the event.

Fikret Yüksel Foundation Turkey Representative Ayşe Selçok Kaya said, “Our teams not only contribute to the society with their social responsibility projects, but also set their career goals by experiencing different work areas while still in high school. Over the years, we have seen significant progress in our students. FIRST®’s global supporters give a certain amount of support to the teams in Turkey and the events we organize. As the Fikret Yüksel Foundation, we continue our efforts to provide opportunities for young people, but we look forward to seeing many more and different sectors among us in order to reach more students. We are very happy with the development of the technical and social skills of young people, as well as the strengthening of the relationship between sectors and educational institutions.”

Participation in regional events in Turkey, where science, technology and creativity will be at the forefront for three days, is free of charge, and anyone who wants to witness the future can attend.

Event calendar

24 – 26 March 2023 Istanbul Regional – Volkswagen Arena, Maslak-Istanbul

27 – 29 March 2023 Bosphorus Regional – Volkswagen Arena, Maslak-Istanbul

31 March – 2 April 2023 Haliç Regional – Volkswagen Arena, Maslak-Istanbul

Source: (BYZHA) – Beyaz News Agency