Dubai: On the 25th – 27th February 2020 at the 13th edition of GESS Dubai 2020, STEAMathalon invited educators from across the nation to trial a GolfBot, which is an artificial intelligence robot trained to traverse a custom mini-golf course. Season two of ParOne STEAMathalon, in association with Canadian learn and play-based company, STEAMathalon Limited, hosted its First Round of Season 3 at the leading educational supplies conference and exhibition in the MENA region.
Taken place at the Dubai World Trade Centre, the First Round saw over 100 students from leading British, American and IB schools in the UAE compete with support from over 300 teachers, senior leaders and education experts. At the end of the competition, Madar International School was crowned the winner of the First Round based on their golf score accumulated on the custom golf course at GESS Dubai 2020 Awards Gala.
For schools already registered in the season, two ParOne STEAMathalon competitions to play the purpose-built mini AI course took place to begin racking up points towards the official team score that will count towards the Finals in April. STEAMathalon also provided the opportunity for teachers to call upon their educator friends, colleagues and peers to physically vote for teams at the #ParOne STEAMathalon AI stand at GESS Dubai in a bid to help them win.
Speaking on the First Round hosted at the GESS Dubai, Aaditya Tangri, Co-Founder & CEO of STEAMathalon, said the purpose of TEAMathalon is to promote innovation, well-being and empower learners with 21st-century workplace skills.
“Season two STEAMathalon demonstrates how AI, tolerance and sports can be successfully integrated into schools, creating exciting learning spaces at unexpected places to bring the community together. Most importantly, it is a brilliant real-world example of how educators can join students and youth to learn these future skills, celebrating and promoting innovation, well-being, sustainability and inclusivity in schools. This is just one of many STEAMathalon events to be hosted in 2020, and we are so excited to see the passion of educators across the nation shine through.”
Speaking about the initiative, Matt Thompson, Project Director, Tarsus, said: “GESS Dubai was delighted to host this year’s edition of ParOne STEAMathalon as part of our efforts to support innovation in education. This event was a great way to showcase how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can play a crucial role in making learning more engaging and fun for students. Congratulations to the organisers and STEAMathalon for a fantastic initiative.”
The First Round of the ParOne STEAMathalon included competitors from Madar International School, Dubai British School, Regent International School, Dunecrest American School, Sharjah American International School, Deira International School, American School of Creative Science (ASCS) Barsha, Safa Community School, Star International School Mirdif, ASCS Maliha Road and Sunmarke School.
