This 3-day workshop was hosted by Legogoa as a part of their project that they’re currently working on - Project FTC.
The 3-day workshop:
This was a workshop wherein members of Team Sigma flew down from Mumbai to help Legogoa with their robot build and other aspects of the competition. Additionally, children from a nearby school were invited to observe and they gained experience
The First Day:
The 3-day workshop started off great - team Sigma arrived from the airport at the venue of this workshop - Nagali Hills. Legogoa welcomed them and they were ecstatic to watch the robot in action and noted all the areas that could be improved. They worked on the robot till about 7 in the evening and that’s when the team-building exercises started where everyone played a few games which helped them get to know each other better. The trainer who helped was really good and everyone got to know each other very well. Games included passing a ball around while saying the person’s name and searching for bottles on the ground, blindfolded, along with their teammates.
The Second Day:
The second day was the most productive day. Both teams worked hard on the robot, the documentation and other aspects of the competition. Since this was Team Legogoa’s first time participating in FTC, all this help was extremely beneficial.
The Third Day:
The third day was the most important of all - Legogoa had to showcase their work to the Hon’ble IT Minister of Goa and other respected people. There was a long assembly where they spoke about the different aspects in which they’ve progressed and a demonstration of the robot was done. The IT Minister was pleased with this and he gave a speech on progressing technology - about how technology is moving at such a rapid rate and how what Legogoa was doing was a great initiative and that all the team members were sure to learn a lot. He, along with the Government of Goa have sponsored Team Legogoa through donations, parts and other useful items. Post lunch, a strategy meeting occurred and then Team Sigma departed back to Mumbai.
Who were the members of Team Sigma that visited Goa?
There were 4 of them - Kabir (documentation and strategy), Agastya (documentation), Kavish (build and programming) and Ayan (building and programming). All of them were equally helpful in their respective fields.
What did the participants have to say about the workshop
“The 3 days in the latter half of January in which Team Sigma #20890 encountered with Team Lego Goa Axiom was truly an indelible experience for me. I reminisce about the times when I was the mentee when participating in robotics competitions for the first time, so being aguide to these students who were so eager to learn things they never knew before was definitely a gratifying escapade.” - Agastya Bhatia (Team Sigma).
“Working with Legogoa Axiom was an experience to cherish. Through it, I found the missing piece of the puzzle that is my FTC journey: passing on my knowledge to a junior team, putting aside barriers of competition.” - Ayaan Bhatt (Team Sigma)
“This was a great and valuable experience, learning from people extremely well-versed in a field is not an opportunity everyone gets and I am thankfull for this.” - Taksh Parekh (Team Legogoa).
“It has been an amazing 3 days sharing my experiences with team axiom. I love the energy they have towards robotics. Reminds me of my rookie years.”
- Kavish Contractor (Team Sigma)
“FIRST Tech Challenge teams Sigma and Lego Goa Axiom exemplified co-opetition and gracious professionalism.” - Atul Raut (Coach - Team Sigma)
“Its a matter of great pride that Goa has its own international robotics team in LegoGoa Axiom! The recent FTC prep workshop by the Mumbai team for the Axiom team was a fantastic initiative exemplifying collaboration and knowledge-sharing on which the Tech world thrives. I observed that all the hard work done earlier by the Goa team received the next level value-add in terms of refinements to their robot’s presentation and programming besides priceless tips on strategies for the upcoming FTC competition in Pune. The team building activities visibly forged stronger bonds between the team members which will reflect in their cohesive play under pressure in the competition.” Vincent Toscano-Chorao, GITP
Team Legogoa, Team Sigma and the IT Minister Shri Rohan Khaunte
The building of the robot
Shri. Rohan Khaunte, Honourable Minister for IT, Tourism, Government of Goa was the Chief Guest for the concluding ceremony of the workshop. The young team members briefed the Honourable Minister about the competition and also demonstrated the working of the Robot developed by the team. Shri. Khaunte congratulated the team for their efforts in taking part in the prestigious event. He said that the future is about programming machines. He also mentioned that the present Government has been encouraging startups and acting as a bridge between individuals with ideas and putting these ideas in practice by providing the requisite support, both financial and technical.
The team building session was conducted by Karuna Satardekar, she is Associate professor at GVMs Dr Dada Vaidya College of Education Ponda Goa. She conducts workshops for in-service teachers , students, ngo , self help groups on different topics of life skills .She is also a certified trainer of Junior Chamber International ( India) .. Team Building Activity helps the team members to know each other better…they can work together ..help each other and can be with each other in difficult times. Team building activities helps to know each other , with this the members have full faith in each other and they can work on any kind of project without facing any difficulty . Each member of the team was interested in the workshop as they want to win the contest which is happening at international level . Having such activities can help each child to grow individually and in groups also.
