Dominica State College joins International First Global Challenge

The Dominica State College will join one hundred and sixty three countries (163) including thirteen (13) Caribbean countries at the inaugural FIRST Global challenge to be held in Washington DC from July 16-18 2017.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a nonprofit organization established in 1989 by Dean Kaman. The organization was established to excite young people about the value of investing in pursuing STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

According to Dean Kaman, over 500,000 students between the ages of 6-18 have participated in the robotic competition including non- American Teams, 75% of participating students pursue studies in STEM and more than 200 Fortune 500 companies provide funding and mentorship to FIRST and its teams.

Dean stated that he wanted to build STEM skills internationally with the aim of assisting nations to work on Global Challenges together; hence the establishment of a new nonprofit International First Committees (IFC) which is separate from FIRST and based on the model of the International Olympic Committees (IOC).

The challenge was open to all nations worldwide and countries were invited to send students representative between the ages of 15-18 years to the FIRST annual International Robot Olympics. The games are named FIRST Global and the inaugural games will be hosted in Washington DC which will be rotated annually among different nations’ capitals.

Dean stated that while one country team may win because it achieved the highest score, the ultimate goal is to provide all nations and their students an understanding of how STEM careers are a realistic and viable option for their future , particularly by increasing cooperation’s among nations through STEM

The team of four comprise Team Mentor, Lecturer Dunstan Decreay, Kyle Paul, Rhea Xavier and Shanae Edwards will leave island on Thursday July 13 2017 where they will be joined by their regional and international counterparts to participate is this momentous occasion.

Dr. Donald Peters President of the college expressed congratulations to the team and had this to say… “The entire college community is indeed proud of our students who are going to participate in the FIRST Global Challenge. Dominica State College is one the youngest College’s in the world, yet our educational standards are high enough to allow our students to be selected to compete against students from all over the globe in this Robotics competition. Our students recently won the Windward Islands Debating championship. This Robotics competition is another exciting opportunity for them to shine. I want to congratulate the team and trust that they will perform at the highest level. This is another amazing achievement in the college’s history and one that bodes well for the college’s future, as a full participant in the global education community.”

Beverly LeBlanc, Dean of Student Affairs and International Service joined Dr. Peters in expressing congratulations to the students and had this to say…”Our students continue to make us proud and by the extension the Commonwealth of Dominica . This is yet another great opportunity to display their talent and skills.

Recently our students won the 2017 Scotia Bank ‘Road to Success” Junior Achievement Innovation National Challenge and came second place in the Scotia Bank “Road to Success” Junior Achievement America’s Innovation Regional Challenge. I wish them all their best as they go out and be ambassadors of the college and Dominica.

Team mentor also shared his three-month exercise working with the team of students in putting the robots together. “It has been a learning experience. Robotics is an interdisciplinary field and the students on the team are pursuing majors which embodied the true meaning of STEM (Biology, Computer programming, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics &Physics).

BON Voyage Team DSC.