—At the international robotics competition, youth from all over the world will apply technology skills to improve the environment—
—Ricardo Salinas promotes the education of youth to boost wellbeing and build a better future—
MEXICO CITY, June 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FIRST Global, a STEM focused international non-profit that organizes an annual international robotics competition for high school students from around the world, announced today that the FIRST Global Challenge 2018 will convene participants from more than 160 countries, between August 15 and 18, at the Arena Ciudad de México, to solve energy efficiency problems with robots created by student participants.
More than 1,000 high school students between ages 14 and 18 will represent their countries in the "Energy Impact" competition to improve the environment. Each team, consisting of up to five high-school age students, has a standard kit of parts to build a robot capable of feeding power plants to scale and build a transmission network in the most efficient way. National teams will be placed in randomly assigned alliances, which compete to achieve their goal and accrue points.
FIRST Global seeks to inspire leadership and innovation in young people in the fields of science and technology to address the most relevant problems globally and improve the quality of life of communities.
The FIRST Global Challenge reflects how science and engineering, in an environment of cooperation, communication and teamwork, can achieve transcendent actions, and solve many of the great challenges humanity faces. In July 2017, the first edition of the FIRST Global Challenge was held in Washington D.C., where young people competed in a challenge about providing access to clean water. In that event, Team Mexico obtained third place.
Ricardo Salinas, founder of Grupo Salinas and founding member of FIRST Global, is host and chairman of the organizing committee of the 2018 FIRST Global Challenge in Mexico City, and is firmly committed to supporting the education of young people to transform the world, promote wellbeing and build a better future, through promoting healthy competition, as well as collaboration between countries.
About FIRST Global
FIRST Global Mission: The FIRST Global mission is to inspire science and technology leadership and innovation in young people from all nations in order to increase understanding, instill the importance of cooperation, address the world’s most pressing issues, and improve quality of life for all. This mission is accomplished through the FIRST Global Challenge, which culminates with an international robotics game that will rotate among different nations each year. By showing the youth of the world that if they communicate, cooperate, and work together using the tools of science and engineering to find solutions to the world’s grand challenges – water, energy, security, medicine, food, and education – they will be able to accomplish great things and become part of a truly global community.
FIRST Global Challenge: The FIRST Global Challenge is an annual robotics game that will address one of the 14 Grand Challenges identified by the national engineering academies of the United States, United Kingdom, and China. Each year, a different issue of global importance will take center stage as the theme of that year’s FIRST Global Challenge, which will be held in a different nation across the world.
FIRST Global’s Global STEM Corps: The Global STEM Corps (GSC) is FIRST Global’s 21st century answer to a world in need of an inspired generation of young adults ready to tackle global challenges. Through GSC, grassroots volunteers work to motivate students across the globe to pursue fulfilling, exciting, and rewarding lives through STEM education by mentoring them for an “Olympics”-style robotics event. These community-based volunteers range from civic minded high school and college students, to entire university robotics and engineering departments. The STEM Corps brings the universal elements of science, cooperation, and competition to the world stage by connecting mentors and FIRST Global competitors online and over the phone – making it possible to stay in touch anytime, anywhere.
FIRST Global’s Higher Education Network: Leading universities around the world including Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Yale and Technion are among the founding members of the FIRST Global Higher Education Network. Participating institutions in the FIRST Global Higher Education Network are partnered with their nation’s FIRST Global robotics team and provide them with technical mentoring (on the tasks associated with designing, building, and programming FIRST Global robots) and guidance to inspire the next generations of leaders in STEM.
FIRST Global Founder: Dean Kamen is a prolific inventor, entrepreneur, and tireless advocate for science and technology innovation. His roles as an inventor and an advocate are intertwined with his passion for practical, real world uses of technology, and his personal determination to spread excitement for and the virtues of STEM to the more than two billion youths around the world. Dean’s drive comes from his firm belief that the tools of science and engineering will help equip the world’s youth to solve the most pressing global challenges we face as a planet, both today and tomorrow.
Press Relations:
Luciano Pascoe, +52 (55) 1720 1313 ext. 36553, lpascoe@gruposalinas.com.mx Daniel McCosh, +52 (55) 1720-0059, dmccosh@gruposalinas.com Anisha Hindocha, +1 (480) 251-4038, anisha@first.global
