This weekend, Brazil’s federal capital, Brasília, becomes the stage for the meeting of the country’s brightest robotics minds. Students from two schools in Porto Alegre, Heitor Villa Lobos and Saint Hilaire, leave this Tuesday, the 27th, heading to Brasília to participate in the national stage of the renowned First Lego League Challenge robotics tournament, organized by Sesi. These young talents, winners of the state stage, now take the name of Rio Grande do Sul into a fierce competition with 100 other teams from different regions of Brazil. The event, which takes place between February 28th and March 2nd, has as its prize the selection of nine projects to compete in the world stage.
The participation of these teams is an important milestone, considering that, of the 18 public school teams present in the national stage, four are from Rio Grande do Sul, and two represent municipal institutions from Porto Alegre. The financial support necessary for participation was provided by the municipal administration, guaranteeing the presence of these young people at the event.
José Paulo da Rosa, the Secretary of Education, expressed his enthusiasm: “It is a great satisfaction to see our students expanding their horizons beyond Porto Alegre and Rio Grande do Sul. They not only gain visibility, but also share and acquire knowledge in a national and international scenario. The projects presented by our teams are a testament to the effort and dedication of students, their families, teachers and the entire school network.”
The highlight of the Heitor Villa Lobos school is the Lobéticos team, made up of eight students and two teachers. They will showcase a robot capable of carrying out complex missions and present innovative research on Robot Dancing, a field in which they have already achieved international recognition in competitions in the Netherlands (2013), Brazil (2014) and Canada (2018). Cristiane Cabral, one of the team’s teachers, shared the students’ enthusiasm: “We are excited and proud to represent our school and community. We hope to inspire other schools and teams with our journey.”
Saint Hilaire is present with the Construtores SH team, made up of 10 students, a former student and a volunteer assistant technician, in addition to two teachers. They created the project “On the outskirts, the world fits!”, which aims to overcome the travel limitations faced by their families and friends. The team developed an immersive space with cutting-edge technology inside a truck, which can travel to outlying communities, providing a sensory experience similar to traveling the world. Bruno Silva Santos, teacher and coach of the team, expressed the group’s commitment: “We worked hard during the summer to represent our school and city. We look forward to presenting our project and learning even more from the other teams.”
This event highlights the importance of robotics and technology in education, demonstrating how students from different backgrounds can excel in a challenging and innovative field. The Porto Alegre teams, with their creative and ambitious projects, are ready to leave their mark on the national robotics scene.
