DOHA, QATAR – After winning the regional tournament held at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, a team from the American School of Doha went on to represent the Middle East region in the Global Botball Tournament at the Global Conference on Educational Robotics (GCER 2011) held in the United States.

The American School of Doha bested 24 schools that competed in this year’s regional competition, which was sponsored by Shell, Qatar, including schools from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar. The American School of Doha was one of three international schools competing in this year’s international tournament in a field of 62 registered competitors. This is the fourth year that Carnegie Mellon Qatar has sent the winning regional team to the international event in the United States.

The Botball Robotics program gives students the skills to design, build and program autonomous robots while encouraging teamwork, innovation and creativity. The students use science, technology, engineering and math skills (STEM), which are core disciplines necessary for students to develop problem-solving and critical thinking.

Each year, middle school and high school students, educators, robotics enthusiasts, and professionals from around the world gather to connect with peers, discuss technology-related ideas and to cheer on their favorite teams during the exciting autonomous robot tournament.

The 2011 International Botball Tournament took place in Anaheim, California from July 9 to July 13, with pre-conference classes on July 8.