WITH the help of their coaches, the members of the Jamaica national robotics team — a group of curious, creative, and motivated high schoolers — have developed their coding and engineering skills in preparation for the 2023 FIRST Global Challenge robotics competition in Singapore.

Team Jamaica is one of over 190 countries set to compete at this Olympic-style event from October 7 to 10.

This year’s game, Hydrogen Horizons, aims to promote clean energy solutions and demonstrate the collective effort required to develop sustainable energy.

To complete the challenge, shifting alliances of three national teams work together to create renewable energy networks. Teams must navigate their robots in the simulated game to produce hydrogen and convert it to energy.

The team has expressed enthusiasm and gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the competition, stating that events such as this have propelled high school robotics programmes in Jamaica. They have used the platform to not only develop their own skills, but to give back to their communities and have led several interactive sessions with students at the Young Scholars Education Coding and Robotics Camp to help the efforts to expand access to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) opportunities in Jamaica.

Since 2017, the Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations out of New York has been a continuous supporter and sponsor of the programme.