The First Vex Robotics Competition League in the North

Beirut Arab University- Tripoli Campus and in cooperation with the Pedagogical Development Center the launching ceremony of the Vex Robotics Competition North League. The event was attended by BAU Vice-President for Tripoli Branch Affairs, Prof. Khaled Baghdady: VEX representative in Lebanon, Omar Hussein; Director of Pedagogy, Hany Hamed; as well as a crowd of university staff-members, school instructors and members of the local community.
After the National Anthem and the BAU Anthem were played, the Coordinator of Public Relations at the Tripoli Branch, Ms. Nala Makkouk, gave a speech in which she stressed on the importance of benefiting from technology, which is sweeping through a world that has become a small village. She mentioned that it is essential to use technology smartly, so that it would not take over our lives. Rather, technology should be used to serve the society and guide the youth towards a better future. In the light of the role BAU has adopted in developing the skills and abilities of the youth, this activity aims at helping the students and the youth to create technology, not to consume it only. This is achieved through training them in specific software that will enhance their creative skills and contribute to the creation of a generation that relies on innovation and creativity.
This was followed by a speech delivered by Mr. Hani Hamed in which he maintained that we live today in a world of openness and globalization, but also a time of loss of social and family values and concepts. It is, thus, essential not to give in to the current status but rather to work hard on enhancing these values and concepts, in particular since we speak about a generation of youth that we build our hopes upon. This is why the Center became a must, namely to bring this idea to life in reality. 

He also added that we have succeeded in developing both the individual and the institution, by simulating the best pedagogical standards to create a generation that is fully aware and capable of thinking and planning for the future. We have taken the initiative to establish partnerships with other pedagogical institutions, which brought fruit today in the launching of the Vex Robotics League. This great event happens for the first time in the North of Lebanon, on the campus of Beirut Arab University.
Next spoke Omar Hussein, the Executive Director of Techno Future Lebanon, the representative of Vex in Lebanon. He explained the importance of applying the principle of STEM in the various schools of Lebanon. He also highlighted the importance of the national tournament that is held annually in Lebanon, which qualifies for the international tournament in the USA, the most important sponsor of which is NASA.

BAU Vice-President for Tripoli Branch Affairs, Prof. Khaled Baghdady stated that the youth of the North in particular, and the Lebanese in general, have rich creative skills, and are able to build a better and more promising future. He also added that the University hosts this year the first Robotics League, believing in the skills of students at schools and universities in the North. The tournament is entitled “The First Vex Robotics North League” and will be held at the University on 15th January 2017.
He also added that the purpose of this tournament is for students to meet and share their experiences, in preparation for the tournament of Lebanon. The University makes all its facilities available and provides the necessary technical support for the participants in the North, with the aim of achieving better results in the tournament of Lebanon.

Eng. Salam Bsat gave a briefing of the activity and the steps to participate. This was followed by the speeches of the two winning teams of last year, namely WeBot from the Lebanese University in Tripoli, and UNITY from the David Karam Pedagogical Center in Kura. The event concluded with a cocktail ceremony.