People & Lifestyle
Smart Stick for the blind and more innovations built by kids at The Yamoransa Model AIRTAD’22 Robotics Competition
On February 23-24, 2022, the first Annual Impact Roundtable Discussion and Robotics Competition (AIRTAD22) was organized under the Yamoransa Model Labs Program to commemorate their 5- years of promoting sustainable STEM education in Ghana and beyond.
With a growing interest in STEM in Ghana, The Yamoransa Model Labs have in the past 5 years been an effective and sustainable means to promoting STEM education.
Through education at the EduLabs and Makerspaces, pupils in over 10 regions across Ghana and Gambia are receiving practical knowledge from well-trained facility managers.
On day 2 of the Annual Impact Roundtable Discussion and Robotics Competition (AIRTAD22), an EduLab Quiz on ICT and robotics competition were held between labs of the Yamoransa Model Labs Program and Yamoransa Model Lab Gambia. Present at the event as a special guest was celebrated Ghanaian academic, biomedical engineer, and current host of the National Science and Maths Quiz, Prof. Elsie A. B. Effah Kaufmann.
The EduLab Competiton saw primary school students from Yamoransa Model Lab 1-8 answering questions on Infomation Communication Technology tools and more. At the end of the competition, Yamoransa Model Lab 5 located at Kyebi in the Eastern region of Ghana emerged winners.
Robotics is one of the best technologies that deal with the design, working, and applications of computer systems for their control and information processing. As a result, the students through the education received from the Yamoransa Model Labs showed their knowledge of this technology and created innovatory projects from the engineering level at AIRTAD’22.
The Robotics competition was divided into two sections. The first phase saw JHS students from Yamoransa Model Lab 1-8 as well as SHS students from Yamoransa Model Lab 3.1 and Gambia being tasked to create a piece of robotic equipment that can solve a challenge/problem in their country. The students were timed for 60 minutes and came out with great innovations.
At the end of the competition, Yamoransa Model Lab 5 located at Kyebi in the Eastern region of Ghana emerged winners of the Robotics Competition, and YM Lab 3.1 located at Akrokerrie SHS won their competition against the Yamoransa Model Lab from Gambia.
The final stage of the robotics competition was the innovative project exhibition where participating labs displayed their creative and problem-solving inventions. From a smart stick for the visually impaired, an automatic cooling system, a smart hand washing bucket, a smart hand sanitizer dispenser, a smart dustbin, heavy-lifting robots, and various detection robots were displayed and the audience was tasked to vote for the ‘Most Innovative Product’.
In the end, the team from Yamoransa Model Lab 2 at Gbawe in the Weija-Gbawe Municipality of the Greater Accra Region were voted winners with the ‘Most Innovative Product’.
To end Day 2 of the Annual Impact Roundtable Discussion and Robotics Competition (AIRTAD22), a panel conversation on Career Guidance was hosted with Prof. Elsie A. B. Effah Kaufmann., Ms. Tracy Jamilatu Iddrisu, Ms. Lina Agyekumwaa, Mrs. Tracy Owusu-Addo, Dr. Debrah Rose, and Mr. Japhet Aryiku. The group shared career experiences and knowledge on how to choose a career with the participating students.
An award ceremony was held to officially close the curtains on the Annual Impact Roundtable Discussion and Robotics Competition (AIRTAD22). Winning labs were rewarded with ICT tools, center managers were appreciated for the work, and the executives from the Helping Africa Foundation were also acknowledged for their work in promoting STEM education.
Watch highlights from Day 2 of the first-ever Annual Impact Roundtable Discussion and Robotics Competition (AIRTAD22) organized by www.theimplementers.org below.
