The international non-profit organization FIRST Committee Association (IFCA) aims to inspire more than two billion young people from all nations to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). One of the lines of action is the organization of a competition on programming and robotics, on a global scale, where each country is represented by a team consisting of 4 students between 15 and 18 years old.
The inaugural session of FIRST Global was held last year at the Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., from July 16 to 18, 2017, with more than 160 countries present. Portugal was represented by Serafim Leite Secondary School in S. João da Madeira, with a team consisting of students Rúben Fernandes, Rui Costa and João Azevedo, who were tutored by teachers Fatima Pais and José Lemos.
To get an idea of the enormous impact of this event in the United States and the world, the presence of the daughter of US President Ivanka Trump opened the second day of competition. In addition, First Global Challenge was the cover of the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal.
This year, Dr. Serafim Leite School Group and the General Directorate of Education will organize a national competition to select the school that will represent Portugal in the 2nd edition of the FIRST Global Challenge, to be held in Mexico City in July.
Stay tuned! Soon there will be news!