Primary and pre-tertiary students from selected schools will be hoping to win medals for Ghana when they represent the country at the 2024 VEX Robotics World Championships.

The students, with the youngest aged eight years, have built robots capable of competing on the global stage.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm. STEM education has started gaining ground in Ghana, with kids being taught how to build robots from an early age.

Through hands-on experience and guidance from dedicated coaches from the Bountiful STEM educational foundation, these kids have honed their skills in coding, engineering and problem-solving to develop sophisticated robots capable of competing at a global level.

They are confident of their chances when they participate in the 2024 VEX Robotics World Championship.

“I think we are going to do very well. We’ve been practising and we’ve been training for so long. When we go there we are really going to perform” one of the students told JoyNews.

Co-founder of Bountiful STEM educational foundational Seth Ogoe Ayim disclosed the team’s readiness. “This is the first time we are taking different grade levels so we’ve been preparing since 2019 for this.

"Last year we brought about 12 medals, a year before that, we brought about 22 medals, so every year, there is an opportunity for us to be able to represent Ghana and Africa, so we are quite prepared for that,” he said.

The parents of some of the children enrolled at the Bountiful STEM educational foundation have seen positive changes in their kids’ attitudes towards studies and their ability to build robots and develop mobile games.

“They’ve learnt how to do some coding, they’ve installed software on their computers that they can use to develop video games that they play. So instead of going buy or download video games, they can design the games themselves” one of the parents said.

Another excited parent said, “The program also teaches them time management, now my kids can develop robots, they can code programs”

As they set their sights on the competition ahead, the students are poised to make their mark on the world stage, proving that the future of robotics belongs to those who dare to dream and strive for greatness.