A robotic team of Goan students has made it to the international competition Codeavour 5.0, a global AI, Coding and Robotics Championship to be held on May 4 & 5 at Dubaiam, mentor and computer teacher at Progress High School, Maya Kamat speaks to ‘The Goan’ why the students are looking forward to crowd-funding to raise the expenses
The global AI, Coding and Robotics championship fosters creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial skills among students and raises awareness about UN Sustainable Development Goals. The competitions are held to test the budding talents from across the globe. It’s a platform to present ideas and Goan students have exhibited their talent in robotic championships on national and international levels. Presently two teams of students from Progress High School, Panaji and Saraswat Vidyalaya, Mapusa, will be participating in the international competition ‘Codeavour 5.0’ to be held on May 4 and 5 at GEMS Dubai American Academy.
It was a gradual win. The team with Usha Kumavat, Nitin Yadav and Yuvraj Dabholkar participated in the first contest, Codeavour 5.0 Regional on March 10 at Saraswat Vidyalaya Mapusa. Upon getting selected, the team headed for Codeavour 5.0 National event at Alpine Convent School, at Gurugram, New Delhi on April 6. Being selected as second runner up the team will test their talent in the Dubai event against students from Jordan, Nepal, Nigeria, Sudan, Egypt, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
“Despite financial hurdles, we got selected,” states Maya Kamat, computer teacher from the Progress High School, Panaji. However, the Goam teams still have a challenge to face: securing funds for travel and accommodation. The exceptional achievement of Goa’s robotics team in the national arena is laudable. It’s a journey from setbacks to triumphs and a testament to resilience, dedication, and the power of teamwork.
Kamat recalls, “As soon as the Codeavour 5.0 Goa regional was declared in early March 2024, I formed our robotics team. Building upon the learning from our experience at the RoboSplash robotics camp at Chorao last year, I tried to instil a renewed sense of focus and determination in our team to prepare diligently for the challenges of Track 2 in Codeavour 5.0.”
However, the path to success was not without its obstacles. The initial registration fees posed a financial hurdle, which was graciously overcome with the support of the then headmistress, Reshma Birodkar. Kamat, who purchased the robotics kit for the team which was required to complete the tasks of the Track 2 challenge of Codeavour 5.0, briefs, “Securing funds for travel and accommodation posed a significant challenge, which we overcame through collaborative efforts with the helping hand provided by a few well-wishers of our school, like Bhalchandra Amonkar, and personal contributions.”
The team also had to plan their strategy. Kamat recalls, “Given that we didn’t have enough time to code and test for autonomous mode, I trained our team to control the robot and score as much as possible manually. Our journey is a testament to the power of determination and teamwork. Despite facing numerous challenges, we never lost sight of our goal and emerged stronger than ever.”
Due to lack of funds and considering the travel, stay and miscellaneous expenses, the school would be able to promote only one child from the team as the competition needs only one driver from the team. Usha Kumavat from Progress High School and Vedang Kamat from Saraswat Vidyalaya, who are the drivers in their respective teams, will be heading for Dubai.
The school and the management are trying to raise funds for travel and stay in Dubai for the students and their mentors by crowd-funding, for which the donors can offer their contribution to Saraswat Education Society, HDFC Bank, Mapusa-Goa, Account number 50100678046729, IFSC code HDFC0000202.
