—Five Mexican youths will compete and make alliances with teams from other countries to build robots that solve energy efficiency problems—
—Ricardo Salinas, host of the event, supports scientific and technological knowledge to promote wellbeing and progress—
MEXICO CITY, June 26, 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, presented today the members of the Mexican robotics team, who are declared ready to apply their technological knowledge in favor of a better environment, through the competition "Energy Impact" in the 2018 FIRST Global Challenge, Mexico City.
The competition will bring together more than 1,300 youth, ages 14-18, from over 180 countries. The event will be held August 16-18 at the Arena Ciudad de México, where competitors will be tasked to solve energy efficiency problems with robots.
The members of the Mexican team are: Ángel Berdeja, Jorge García, Herman Sánchez, Santiago García and Frida Sosa. The first three are from Chihuahua and the remaining two are from Mexico City.
The team members have demonstrated their mettle in robotics competitions throughout the country. They will be tasked with building a robot capable of feeding power plants to scale and developing a transmission network in the most efficient way.
The team mentor is Víctor Gómez, born in Mexico City, who studied Industrial Robotics Engineering at the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Azcapotzalco campus, of the National Polytechnic Institute, and has a Master's Degree in Advanced Mechanical Engineering and Robotics from Kyoto, Japan. He describes himself and his students as agents of change that bring science and technology closer to the young people of our country, promoting their intellectual development.
The team leader is Adriana Avitia. She was born in Chihuahua, and is in her fifth semester of Mechatronic Engineering at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. She said FIRST Global has given her the opportunity to demonstrate that together we can be the change we want for the world.
Ricardo Salinas, founder of Grupo Salinas and founding member of FIRST Global, is host and president of the organizing committee of the 2018 FIRST Global Challenge, Mexico City, and seeks to develop future generations of innovative leaders.
Mr. Salinas is firmly committed to promoting scientific and technological knowledge in order to generate higher levels of welfare and progress in Mexico and the world.
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