The FIRST LEGO League is not only about building robots. Teams participate in a research project where they need to recognize and resolve specific spatial problems. The competition requires effective teamwork and complex thinking extending beyond the boundaries of science subjects. The solution does not only have to be developed but also needs to be pitched to a professional jury.
The main sponsor of the Hungarian rounds of the robot-building and problem solving competition is Telenor Hungary, while its professional partner is Telenor’s HiperSuli digital education programme. Six teams of four schools participating in the HiperSuli program will be enrolled in the competition.
“The HiperSuli program and FIRST LEGO League share the mission of preparing students for project-based thinking. Rather than learning dry facts or studying physics, chemistry and maths in a siloed manner, they participate in targeted project-based education. Focusing on a specific task, they need to gather interdisciplinary knowledge to be able to resolve a challenge”, said Balázs Koren, Maths Teacher, Digital Education Expert and Head of Telenor’s HiperSuli Program.
Although one of the world’s largest robotics competitions has been announced in Hungary for years, the country has never hosted national finals before. For the first time this year, local FIRST LEGO League competitions will be organized by HelloWorld Education and Development Association which means that Hungary will be added to the map of FIRST as an independent competitor country. “This year’s competition will be even more challenging than before. The coronavirus pandemics has created a new and exciting situation in every country. We hope that the best Hungarian LEGO robot builders will be able to attend the national finals in Budapest and the global finals in Detroit in person,” said József Molnár, Project Manager of FIRST LEGO League in Hungary.
Telenor has long been committed to promoting modern education methods preparing students for the labour market needs of the coming decades. “Last year, we all had to adapt to digital education at a lightning-fast pace. I believe that the knowledge base accumulated and published by HiperSuli provided valuable assistance to teachers, parents and students alike. Now we are pleased to support the organisers of the national finals of a leading global robotics competition in Hungary. We believe that algorithmic thinking will be a key requirement not only in robot building and programming but also for filling many different jobs in the future”, said Attila Mészáros, Communication Director of Telenor Hungary.
How about the relevance of robotics in education? To see how students prepare for the competition, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbUVtNuRJjQ
About FIRST
FIRST® is a robotics community that prepares young people for the challenges of the coming decades through a suite of team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 that can be facilitated in school or in structured afterschool programs. Being a leading global international non-profit educational organisation focused on science, engineering, technology and maths, FIRST runs programs combining experience-based education with team sports. Every year, there are more than 450,000 children joining First LEGO League competitions organized by FIRST and LEGO® in 110 countries worldwide. Learn more about the Hungarian competition at https://www.firstlegoleague.hu/