Officials of SEC, MOQ and CNA-Q at the press conference.

By Joseph Varghese
Staff Reporter

Qatar will be hosting the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) under the patronage of  the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, from November 6 to 8 at Al Shaqab Indoor Arena. Over 3,000 delegates from 55 countries will take part in event.
Maersk Oil Qatar (MOQ) and College of the North Atlantic Qatar (CNA-Q), in partnership with the Supreme Education Council (SEC), launched the event at a press conference yesterday.
Fawziya al-Khater, director of the Education Institute at the SEC, Lewis Affleck, managing director, MOQ and Dr Ken MacLeod, president of CNA-Q took part in the press conference.
“This is the first time Qatar is hosting WRO. We expect a total of 3,000 international delegates at the competition,” explained Dr Theodore Chaisson, dean of Informatics Technology CNA-Q.
He continued, “About 34 teams from Qatar will be participating in the competition. The national level competitions will be held on 30 and 31 of this month. The event is the largest of its kind in Qatar and features 1,200 students. As many as, 400 teams will compete at the national competition.”
Al- Khater stated, “Hosting the World Robot Olympiad 2015 is a great testament to the progress made by Qatar in supporting the development of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills. The SEC is committed to developing such skills given their crucial importance in helping Qatar achieve its ambitions, and we welcome close co-operation with our partners from the private sector.”
Affleck pointed out: “As one of the largest private sector supporters of STEM skills in Qatar, we are also proud of our steadfast and sustained commitment to developing the human potential of the country.  Through partnership programmes, we are working to make positive contributions in Qatar and develop vitally important skills in young people.”
Dr MacLeod, noted: “This event is about providing students with an opportunity to experience robotics and encouraging young Qataris to consider STEM careers to support the future of Qatar and the transition to a knowledge-based economy. The World Robot Olympiad will be a milestone event showcasing Qatar as a host country for international events, and featuring Qatar’s best and brightest on the world stage.”
The WRO is an annual competition to develop skills and inspire enthusiasm in STEM by bringing together teams of young people from all over the world and challenging them to use their creativity and problem-solving skills to build robots capable of completing a range of challenges.  The theme of this year’s event is ‘Robot Explorers’ and features various challenges that reflect local cultural influences including one for primary school level called ‘Pearl Diving’.