Online Desk: Team Bangladesh has won 15 awards including 3 gold medals at the 25th International Robot Olympiad (IRO). Held from 16 to 19 January 2024 in Athens, Greece, a total of 1,400 students from 26 countries participated this year, where Team Bangladesh won 3 gold medals, 6 silver medals, 4 bronze medals, and 2 technical medals.

The 3 gold medals were won in three categories. The winners list includes Zaima Jahin Wara (William Carey Academy) from Robosparks in the ‘Robot in Movie Junior’ category; Nasheetat Zainah Rahman (Mastermind English Medium School), Propa Halder (Birshreshtha Munshi Abdur Rouf Public College), and Marjia Afifa Prithibi (South Point School and College) from Robo Idiots in ‘Robot in Movie Senior’ category; and Misbah Uddin Inan (Chattogram Cantonment Public College) from Zeroth Team in ‘Creative Idea Senior’ category.

Silver medals were won by Mahruz Mohammad Ayman (Navy Anchorage School and College Dhaka) from Team Pie in the ‘Creative Junior’ category; Zaima Jahin Wara (William Carey Academy) from Team Robosparkars, and Mahruz Mohammad Ayman (Navy Anchorage School and College Dhaka) from Team Pie in ‘Physical Computing Junior’ category; Misbah Uddin Inan (Chattogram Cantonment Public College) and Sadia Akter Sarna (Viqarunnisa Noon School and College) from Team Zeroth in ‘Robot in Movie Senior’ category; Maisha Sobhan (Viqarunnisa Noon School & College), Samia Mehnaz (Viqarunnisa Noon School & College), and Maskur Malik Mustafa (Notre Dame College) from Team Aficionados in ‘Robot in Movie Senior’ category; and Mahir Tajwar Chowdhury (Mirzapur Cadet College) from Team Ex-Fanatic in the ‘AI Autonomous Driving Senior’ category. The winners were awarded their medals at the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex on 20 January 2024.

Regarding the achievement, Professor Dr Lafifa Jamal, Team Captain and member of the Central Committee of the International Robot Olympiad, shared that students from Bangladesh are continuously leaving their marks of talent in the International field of robotics. She added, “Establishing a student-friendly modern robotics lab would help skill up our students in this field.”

Since 2018, a local Robot Olympiad competition has been organised in Bangladesh. From 13 to 17 September 2023, the 6th Bangladesh Robot Olympiad Online Phase, and then from 29 to 30 September 2023, the 6th Bangladesh Robot Olympiad National Phase was organised. Later, Champions from the National Phase were taken in a three-day residential camp, through which, based on performance and other metrics, Team Bangladesh for this year’s IRO was selected.