Team of Syrian refugees participates in first national competition of Sumo Robots

AMMAN — A team of Syrian refugees participated in the First National Competition for Sumo Robot, which was held at Al Hussein Technical University as part of the Community Protection Programme implemented by Blumont Organisation with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 

The team contended with more than 95 teams from various Jordanian universities, schools and institutes, according to a statement from Blumont, an NGO that works for the benefit of refugees and host populations.

The participation aims at empowering young men and women in Zaatari camp to become innovators through a series of trainings on Sumo Robot. The team learnt how to build a robot from scratch in addition to learning the basics of robots programming using Arduino programming language.

Caroline Haddad, Blumont Jordan Country Director, said: “We are keen at Blumont to involve our students in competitions and courses that adopt creative and innovative approach that employs artificial intelligence technology and modern software.”

Rania, 15, one of the participants in the competition, said: “We are proud to participate in this competition; we competed with university students as the Zaatari team is one of the youngest participants.”

She added: “We learnt to work within a team and design robots. I look forward to working in the artificial intelligence field, as I hope to invent a specialised robot designed for children who witnessed war.”

For more than two decades, Blumont teams around the world have worked to help individuals and communities overcome challenges and create a foundation for progress, the statement said.

 The organisation’s experience and expertise include humanitarian assistance, construction or rehabilitation of critical social infrastructure, governance, agriculture and economic development, concluded the statement.