National Academy for Computer Training and Research (NACTAR) in Bogura today (August 6, 2022) organised a robotics Olympiad in the district for the first time.
Around 331 participants from 106 teams representing 49 educational institutions, took part in the “Nactar Robotics Olympiad-22”.
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There were four categories: Robo Soccer, Line Following Robotics Competition, Project Showcasing, and Poster Presentation in the competition, reports our Bogura correspondent.
The Olympiad was held at the NACTAR premises in Bogura’s Fultala area, reports our local correspondent.
The competitions were held among two groups: class five to class twelve and at the university level.
Participants from many renowned universities including Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), University of Dhaka (DU), Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), North South University (NSU), among others, participated in the Olympiad.
Fakir Lutfanur Rashid, a student of NSU, said, “There are six NSU students from three teams who participated in this Robo Carnival. We lag behind the other advanced countries in Machine Learning and AI (artificial intelligence). What we are doing now they have already done that many years ago.”
“We are here to encourage the other junior students who will participate in events like this in future. We are also delighted to participate in this event because there is less scope to practice Machine Learning and AI. Thanks to NACTAR for organising such an event,” said Rashid.
“We are happy to be here in Bogura. We can justify our skill and circuit analysis experience. These things are getting updated and we are learning,” Hamim Intesar, a student from AUST told The Daily Star.
Students from many local educational institutions also participated and showcased their skills and experiences with the university students at the Olympiad.
Abir Islam Mashud, a class-12 student of Bogura Govt Azizul Haque College, said, “At the university level, a national Robo Soccer competition is held every year but this time this event is held in Bogura and we are delighted to participate in it.”
“We never participated in any robot soccer game. We made soccer robots in four days of hard work. These things are new in Bogura. We are getting opportunities to mingle with students who came from across the country. We shared our culture, language, and robotic knowledge with each other and made friends with the participants,” he said.
Md Shafiul Islam, director of NACTAR, said, “The young generation loves technology. We organised this Olympiad to introduce and engage the young generation with Machine Learning and AI as they will lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This time we did it in four categories. Next time we will increase the number of categories.”
Md Mohsin, additional secretary to the Technical and Madrasa Education division of the education ministry, was present at the programme as the chief guest.
The winning team will receive prize money of Tk 85,000 in Robo Soccer, Tk 60,000 in Line Following Robotics Competition, Tk 60,000 in Project Showcase (Senior), Tk 35,000 in Project Showcase (Junior), Tk 35,000 in Poster Presentation (Senior), and Tk 18,000 in Poster Presentation (Junior).
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/youth/news/robotics-olympiad-held-bogura-the-first-time-3089211