Team Nigeria comprising a team of young Nigerian children, aged 6-10 years, from Port Harcourt, Rivers State have won the Teamwork award at the FIRST® LEGO® League Junior (FLL® Jr.) International Challenge in California, United States of America.
The Challenge held on March 30, 2019 had the Nigerian team members: Okechukwu Samira Peculiar; Amos Uduak and Ayeba-Enenimiete Owatarite. They were coached by Uchechukwu Odiaka and Mercy Makagni.
Enterprise Software giant SAP (#SAP4Good) and CODERINA Educational Foundation (the operational partner of the programme in Nigeria) started the FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) in Nigeria five years ago.
The programme has grown over the years with 28,000 students and 1,134 teachers have been introduced to robotics, coding and project-based learning through the FLL and the FLL Jr. programmes.
The three popular programms, Jr. FLL, FLL and FIRST Tech Challenge are the world leading robotics and project-based learning programmes. All three programmes are available to future prove Nigerian kids and prepare them to compare and compete with other kids around the world.
FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. is exciting, is an entry level experiential and fun global robotics and project-based programme that ignites an enthusiasm for discovery, science, and technology in children.
FLL Jr. captures young children’s curiosity and directs it toward discovering the wonders of science and technology.
The programme was developed to introduce 6 to 10 year-olds (grades primary school and early JSS) to science concepts and teamwork. The programme was created through a partnership between FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and the LEGO Group.
The advanced level programme for JSS and SSS level students, FLL® is a programme for a team (comprising of 2-10) of children from ages 9 to 16 and has three components comprising of project, robot game and core values.
Through each of these components they are tasked (working during the FLL season lasting about a period of 8weeks) with the responsibility of carrying out research on an annual theme by offering innovative solutions to issues, build, design and programme robots to carry out certain missions on the FLL table and also interviewed based on the core values of FLL – gracious professionalism and competition.
In January 2019, spectators cheered on as six hundred (600) contestants, ages 9 to 16, demoed their robotic ideas.
At the end of the two-day annual FLL Nigeria National Championship hosted by Baze University, Abuja, Team AI Squad hillside school emerged champions; Kings college Lagos – project; Ikot Obio Itong, Akwa Ibom State – core values; FGGC, Odogbolu & Team Kids Mechanics from Hide school- robot design; Command School Lagos – judges award; Deeper life school – robot performance; Coach Enoch – outstanding mentor/ coach, while, the Federal Science and Technical College, Michika (North East), won the “Against all odds” awards.
The National Championship also created avenue for teams to represent Nigeria at international championship.
