On August 2, the robotics team from Hsinchu County’s Jianshi Elementary School won two major awards at the 2023 International Youth Robot Competition in South Korea. Led by school principal Chen Chih-ming, the team held their own among over 60 teams and nearly 3,000 contestants from 15 countries, and took home the Golden Quality Award and Most Popular Award. This feat earned them hearty praise from Hsinchu County Magistrate Yang Wen-ke, who addressed the team during a special staff meeting, encouraging them to continue their good work and create further infinite possibilities.
Magistrate Yang explained that the county government has pledged its full support to Jianshi Elementary School in order to educate students on indigenous cultures and technology development. Furthermore, he expressed gratitude to the various social organizations that pooled their resources so the students would have an opportunity to stand on a global stage. The magistrate believes, “the bigger the dream, the greater the strength,” and aims to provide indigenous children with opportunities to shine outside of the traditional fields of music, sports, dance, and cultural arts, so that they too are able to create infinite possibilities.
Principal Chen Chih-ming explained that Jianshi Elementary School participated in the second Taiwan Youth Robotics Olympic Games last December and took home first and second place in the creative robot category. As a result, they earned the opportunity to participate in the International Youth Robot Competition this year. The team had an excellent showing in South Korea, and when the good news was relayed to their family members back in the indigenous village, the entire community shared in their glory and excitement. This year, the school was also invited to perform at Friend’s Night. The students showcased their tribal music through traditional percussion, making way for exchanges in art and culture and presenting Taiwan’s indigenous music, athletic prowess, dances, and information technology on a global stage for all to see.
Principal Chen explained that the school’s robot was designed as a rainwater recycling and filtration system, with the goal of protecting the environment and upholding sustainability by recycling its hydro resources. The design theme also incorporated traditional architecture of the indigenous Atayal tribe, as well as taking elements from science, math, computer programming, and industrial arts—integrating knowledge and concepts across various fields. The students, in preparing for the competition, overcame a number of challenges; they rehearsed constantly in order to deliver their presentations in English, and finally gained recognition in the final competition. When the results were announced, the student body and teachers alike were extremely excited, and some were so happy that they were moved to tears as they shared the sweet fruit of victory.
Hsinchu County Government’s Education Bureau Chief Yang Chun-tzu expressed approval for how the school’s robot design incorporated unique traits from traditional indigenous culture, combining Atayal architecture with information technology and computer programming in a perfect demonstration of how STEAM concepts can be merged with design courses and integrate various fields. She was also impressed by how much thought the students gave to the storage mechanism of the rainwater recycling and filtration system. The program design originated from an an automated sprinkler irrigation system. Integrating knowledge from their agricultural courses, students upgraded the humidity control and stability of the automated irrigation controls from their mushroom chambers to create new and innovative technology. Lastly, Chief Yang said that the students’ designs had achieved the concepts of eco-sustainability and environmental protection, which perfectly aligned with the organizers’ theme of “solving problems and providing a better life for humans”. She believes this will give them a competitive edge in the field of developing food agriculture education. In the future, the Education Bureau will continue to encourage all schools to develop their standard curriculum to better provide students with a stage to showcase their talents, and the Bureau will ensure that schools provide literacy-oriented education, making strides to provide excellent education for the County.