Namibia competes at mega-robotics contest in Greece

Team Namibia is heading to Athens in Greens to represent the country at a major global robotics contest.

Teams from more than 190 countries are taking part in the First Global Challenge, which begins on Thursday and ends on 29 September. Teams are invited to build and programme a robot during the competition.

The First (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Global Challenge is an Olympic-style international robotics competition that takes place in a different country each year, hosting kids between the ages of 14 and 18.

Teams work together to complete tasks in a game themed around one of the challenges facing the planet in an effort to foster understanding and cooperation among the youth of the world as they use their abilities to solve the world’s problems.

This year’s theme, ‘Feeding the Future’, challenges contestants to learn about and address the obstacles and opportunities to provide the global population with equitable, safe, nutritious and environmentally responsible food.

The theme for this year’s challenge resonates deeply with Team Namibia because of the challenges posed by the drought.



Team Namibia

Michael Hanstein, team captain and mentor of the six-member Namibian team, is the head of operations for the team and ensures that all responsibilities are executed. Hanstein is a student at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) and trains his team on how to build robots.

In an interview, Hanstein said the team believes this year’s theme will forge unity between developed and developing countries.

“As a team who are enthralled by robotics and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as a whole. We believe that the future in STEM is in the hands of the youth and we intend to take advantage of this to our utmost ability.”

Rejoice Teca assists the team with programming and is fascinated by the limitless possibilities of technology. In addition to having a strong interest in technology, Teca enjoys gaming, web development and graphic design.

Robert Kalomho performs the technical role in the team. He has knowledge of Python, mechanical principles and cybersecurity. He plans to study computer science in the future.

Jadon Jooste has been intrigued by various STEM projects since a young age and plays a critical role in assembling and planning the robot’s infrastructure. Jooste is enthusiastic about sciences in general and hopes to pursue a career in STEM.

Hein de Villiers was one of the several exhibitors at the Southern African Sub-regional Forum on Artificial Intelligence. Later on, he participated in a local First Lego League where his team won the robot design and performance award. De Villiers is the team’s outreach coordinator.

Robert Dishena is a self-driven programmer and an enthusiast of the sciences, with a keen interest in biology, chemistry and physics. Dishena hopes to pursue his dream of becoming a marine biologist. Besides academics, he enjoys coding and playing football.

Dean Kamen, the founder of First Global, explained that by nurturing cross-cultural communication and cooperation among high school students around the world through STEM, "we empower them to collectively tackle the world’s most pressing challenges and come up with solutions that improve quality of life for all."

Their mission is to inspire leadership and innovation in youth from all nations by empowering them through education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.