For the second year in a row, the Mechatronics Department at the Issam Fares Faculty of Technology organized the High School’s Robotics Initiation (HRI) Competition at the Souk el Gharb Campus on Friday, April 12, 2019. The competition aims to initiate High School students on their path of learning and discovery in the fields of robotics, mechatronics, and artificial intelligence.

Prior to the competition, the university had invited participating students to training sessions that included an introduction to the field of robotics and its evolution with applied Arduino tutorials. These sessions were led by the UOB Robotics Club in Souk el Gharb and supervised by faculty members Dr. Rodrigue Imad, Dr. Faten Rafeh, and Dr. Gilbert Tekli.

Dr. Camile Nassar, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Director of the Souk el Gharb Campus, launched the competition with a welcoming address, while Dr. Elias Khalil, Associate Dean of the Issam Fares Faculty of Technology, welcomed the participating teams and introduced the faculty. Mechatronics Engineering Technology and its specialties as studied in the department were introduced by Dr. Gilbert Tekli, the competition coordinator, who then proceeded to outline the competition rules and launch the first session. During the competition, the teams were supported by members of the Balamand Robotics Society and entertained by Chill Pill, a Balamand Souk El Gharb Music Club Band.

The competition consisted of three phases during which competing teams had to perform various tasks. The tasks challenged the teams to complete tasks they had already learned to do, learn to handle new challenges, and configure a mobile robot basic setup.

The competition stems from the University of Balamand’s commitment to contribute to the community through continuously creating new platforms for the exchange of knowledge and experience for the benefit of high school students and the local community.

Competition Winners :
1st Place: Collège des Dominicaines de Notre Dame de la Délivrande Araya
2nd Place : SABIS Choueifat
3rd Place: Baissour Official Secondary School

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