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It
was, to all intents and purposes, a conventional
robotics competition for secondary school students
when their schools received Republic Polytechnic’s
invitation to participate in its first Automation
Competition in August. Accordingly, the school
passed the invitation letter to the teacher in
charge of the Computer or Robotics Club to see if he
or she could marshall a team of 4 for Sep 11, 2004.
The facade that this was another-poly-tournament arose
first of all, from the all-familiar word – ‘Robotics’.
It conjured up the stereotypical image of a computer and
some cold, steely devices moving to the whims of a
bespectacled, Dexter-like boy genius. It was said that
on Sep 11 itself, several other Institutes of Higher
Learning were also holding a similar competition and
that some anxious teachers had to worry about how to
keep an eye on their charges in the different corners of
Singapore. For this outreach event at Republic
Polytechnic, little was known of its being a very
different sort of Robotics competition: no expert
knowledge was needed and experience in similar sounding
competitions was not much use as well.
For teachers who are planning which poly
engineering-related competitions to participate in
next year, here are some tips on how to increase
your team’s chances of winning. First, find out
from the organizers if you need any expert knowledge
for the tournament you are keen on. Sometimes, all
they want is a normal, sociable teenager with the
ability to think on his or her feet. This is the
time to activate the normally low-profile members of
your Robotics / Innovator’s club.
Next, you should say as little as possible about what
the competition is all about, where it’s going to be
held, how long it will take, how to get to the venue and
so on. Instead, muster as much nonchalance as you can
when you announce that there is now another tournament
for those in need of CCA points for their Sec 4
testimonial. Mention casually that there are prizes and
free food and leave it as that. Next, refer the
students to the noticeboard where you intend to put up
the publicity poster in say, the next two or three
days. In no way should you show you are anxious to get
a team of experts.
Based on personal
observations, the result of the above half-hearted
approach to recruiting a participating team is that
you have a team of like-minded, self-directed and
curious teenagers. They don’t need adults to tell
them how to put up a good show. They’ll be their
natural selves and in fact, free from the eagle-eyed
watchfulness of accompanying teachers, they think
better on their nimble feet.
Interestingly, of the
three winning teams at Republic Polytechnic’s Automa.04,
two came unaccompanied by adults after their school had
announced the date of the competition. The publicity
poster on the notice board for interested students
provided the organizer‘s contact. So, they e-mailed
their names and on Sep 11, presented themselves promptly
at the door in the morning. Additionally, they worked
with an unspoken understanding of how they should all
approach the task assigned, forging ahead determinedly
with meticulous care, ignoring lunch and breaks.
At the end of the
day, when the top teams won their coveted Robotics
Kits, there were wide smiles on their faces and an
almost discernible resolve to come again, soon. We’re
all looking forward to witnessing their team power again
at the next tournament.
(For schools which
are interested, please note our next competition is on
Nov 5, and that details are available at
http://www.rp.edu.sg/engineeringweek)
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