22 February 2008 ORT students in Russian team at World Robot Olympiad Four students from the ORT de Gunzburg School in St Petersburg competed in the World Robot Olympiad in Taiwan as part of the 17-strong national Russian team. Accompanied by their Computer Science teacher Sergey Filippov, Igor Suvorov, Sergey Vlasov, Bogdan Onischuk and Boris Sanin put their robots through a series of tests on 12 battlegrounds against teams from 18 countries. The robot designed by Sergey and programmed by Igor (pictured) achieved the best result for Russia the Certificate of Excellence and cup in the primary school division. Igor said: The most interesting thing for me was to see what people from other countries had built. Now I know what summits I need to reach if I want to win the next World Robot Olympiad. Team mate Bogdan Onischuk added: It was a great honour to be a member of the Russian team. In the week before the Olympiad those of us at ORT de Gunzburg prepared for more than five hours every day for the contest and I think we achieved a lot as a result. Competitors at the Olympiad are given one hour to design, build and programme robots to solve a specific problem. The robots are built with Lego, are equipped with various sensors, and use the Logo computer programming language. Bogdan said that the friendships made during the Olympiad meant that he would be able to swap ideas for improved designs over the Internet. Teacher Sergey Filippov said the Olympiad provided an effective opportunity for students to develop skills that are essential in the 21st century. Not only do the kids build a solid foundation in maths, science, technology, design and ICT through hands-on experience but they also strengthen the creative and critical thinking, and social skills, that they will need at university and at work, Mr Filippov said. World ORT Representative in Russia, Belarus and Central Asia, Avi Ganon, said that robotics was an exciting field that integrated science, engineering, mechanics, electronics and programming. We are delighted that the style and quality of the education that ORT provides is putting our students at the forefront of this kind of study, Mr Ganon said. The Olympiad competitors showed great imagination and programming skills which will be of tremendous benefit to them in their adult lives.