ΕλRobotex MRC 2024: An Unforgettable Weekend of Robotics and Innovation
The Robotex MRC 2024, the largest educational robotics festival in Cyprus, concluded successfully this weekend, June 29-30. The festival, organized by the Cyprus Computer Society (CCS), was hosted at the Sports Center of the University of Cyprus, attracting hundreds of participants and visitors.
On behalf of the President of the Republic, the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy, Nikodimos Damianou, inaugurated the 7th Cyprus Robotics Competition Robotex, which for the first time included the Minoan Robot Sports Competition (MRC). According to the Deputy Minister, it is particularly encouraging for a society to see the younger generation experimenting, learning, and actively engaging with the world of technology.
The event was also addressed by the Vice President of the Board of the Research and Innovation Foundation and Rector of the European University Cyprus, Professor Andreas Efstathiou. As the diamond sponsor, the Research and Innovation Foundation supported the Robotex MRC 2024 competition, which, as noted by Mr. Efstathiou, contributes to the development of a culture of research, innovation, and technology. "A culture that will encourage the younger generation to understand the possibilities these fields offer and to become part of a modern ecosystem of research and innovation."
Following the introductory speech by the President of CCS, Mr. Costas Agrotis, speeches were also given by the representatives of the co-organizers: the Deputy Director of the Youth Board, Ms. Maria Miltiadou, Associate Professor and Vice President of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Cyprus, Vassos Vasiliou, the representative of IET Cyprus, Ms. Fotini Georgiou, and the representative of the Hellenic Educational Robotics Organization that organizes the MRC Global Olympiad, Ms. Irene Karouzaki.
The Robotex MRC 2024 competition brought together over 600 roboticists, pupils, students, and adults from all over Cyprus, who competed in more than 25 different robotic challenges. Thousands of people, parents, relatives, friends of the contestants, and technology and robotics enthusiasts attended robotic battles and enjoyed interactive technology exhibits, games, prize draws, and other activities.
During the two-day event, primary school students presented robotic constructions on the theme "Robots for an Inclusive Society." Through their creations, the students highlighted the power of technology to bridge social gaps and promote inclusion and equality for all.
On Saturday, the robots competed in the Line Following and Folkrace tracks, tried to find their way out of the maze, and aimed at targets in archery. Meanwhile, the highly anticipated Drones competition took place on the lower floor of the same building.
On Sunday, the festival began with a dance performance by the students of the Elena Clarke Dance School. The robots battled in SUMO, raced on the new 15-meter rally track, and tried out the new shot put event. The program also included the Girls Firefighting event, exclusively for girls, aimed at attracting more women to STEAM fields.
The impressive Transformer from the Bank of Cyprus, interacting with the Laika robot dog from Neapolis University, captured the audience's positive surprise. Visitors, both young and old, were also thrilled with the smart Einstein robot, the first conversational robot created by Pascal English School students.
Another highlight was the Robotex Cyprus Kypruino, a unique limited edition Arduino Uno board made in Cyprus, presented at the Robo.com.cy booth, among others. Interactive booths featuring new technologies were also present, including a robotic arm that drew pictures from the teams of Novatex and the NGO ECECT, and educational Lego Education products from O3-Out of the Ordinary. At the booth of the Cyprus Computer Society, European programs such as Drones Steam by Emphasys and InvesTech by Cyric were showcased.
Finally, a youthful touch was added to the event by the hosts, Savvas Constantinou and Andria Zanti.
The Robotex MRC Cyprus 2024 is organized by the Cyprus Computer Society with co-organizers the University of Cyprus, the Youth Board, and IET Cyprus. The event is under the auspices of the President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulidis, and is approved by the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Youth and the Technical Chamber of Cyprus (ETEK).
The diamond sponsors are the Research and Innovation Foundation and the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy.
The event is supported by XM as a tech partner and the Bank of Cyprus as a youth supporter. The gold sponsor is Neapolis University, silver sponsors are Hellas SAT and Huawei, and bronze sponsors are Novatex Solutions Ltd, ZEBRA Consultants, NETinfo, Kardex, NetU, ICDL, while Robo.com.cy is the prize donor.
It should be noted that over 100 volunteers and judges, members of the Robotex MRC Cyprus Organizing and Scientific Committee, worked selflessly for the effective organization of the festival. The next milestone for this team is the Award Ceremony for the winners, which will take place in October.
The winning teams will represent Cyprus in the respective international MRC competitions in Crete and Robotex in Estonia, where Cypriot students have swept the awards in previous years.
You can find the competition results at www.robotex.org.cy and for more information contact the Cyprus Computer Society at 22460680. The event was broadcast live on the Robotex Cyprus YouTube channel, where you can watch highlights as well as updates on social media with the hashtag #RobotexCy24.
Stakeholders:
- Organizer: Cyprus Computer Society (CCS)
- Co-organizers: University of Cyprus, Cyprus Youth Board, IET Cyprus Local Network
- Under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Christodoulides
- With the approval of: the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth and the Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber of Cyprus (ETEK)
- Diamond Sponsor: Research and Innovation Foundation and Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy
- Technology Partner: XM
- Youth Supporter: Bank of Cyprus
- Gold Sponsor: Neapolis University Pafos
- Silver Sponsors: Huawei & Hellas Sat
- Bronze Sponsors: Novatex Solutions Ltd, ZEBRA Consultants, NETinfo, Kardex, NetU, ICDL
- Gifts: Robo.com.cy
- Universities: University of Nicosia, European University Cyprus, Frederick University of Cyprus, UCLan Cyprus
- Supporters: Services from: Graphic Stories, MakAd, gra.des, C.K. Matrix exhibitions partners, Arnold's Digital Printers, Logicom Distribution & CISCO Meraki, Panis Pieri, UACG, O2-Out of the Ordinary. Associations: ACM, IEEE, Association of Computer Science Teachers and Association of Computer Science Teachers Association of Design and Technology Professors, CITEA and the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute
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