The winners among secondary schools in the RoboTech competition were announced in the final ceremony that brought together well-known names from the world of academia, policymaking, innovation, in a unique event dedicated to the capital’s youth and their passion for robotics.
RoboTech, the first robotics competition among high schools in Tirana, crowned its winners at the gala evening. After three intensive months, dozens of participating students in the competition organized by University Mtropolitan Tirana and the Center for Openness and Dialogue at the Prime Minister’s Office presented their robotics projects proposing smart solutions for various issues such as environmental pollution, traffic, maximizing tourist offerings, product distribution in households, eco-friendly transportation, etc., making the competition electrifying and the jury’s decision very difficult.
Present at the final night where the best works were evaluated were the Minister of Economy, Culture, and Innovation, Blendi Gonxhja, the Minister of Youth and Children, Bora Muzhaqi, the President of University Metropolitan Tirana, Ing. Arjan Çukaj, the Chairman of the Economy and Finance Committee, Eduard Shalsi, the Director of COD, Eridana Çano, innovation experts, educators, representatives of high schools in Tirana, and many technology, robotics, and artificial intelligence enthusiasts.
This first edition of RoboTech was supported by the Dritan Hoxha Media Foundation, GIZ Albania, EU for Innovation, Tumo Center, FM Reklama, and Intech.
During his welcoming speech, Minister of Economy, Culture, and Innovation Blendi Gonxhja highly appreciated this competition, calling it a valuable contribution to the ecosystem in Albania.
“”Innovation is a mission for our society. Innovation is no longer a trend but a necessity. Societies, companies, organizations, and everything competing in today’s market that do not innovate are destined to face challenges and regress. We want to standardize the rules to evaluate which are the best ideas, initiatives to distinguish and invest in them,”, said Minister of Economy, Culture, and Innovation, among other things.
Also, the Director of COD expressed enthusiasm for this initiative, which helps high school graduates acquire practical knowledge.
“JI am very happy that through this initiative, which came to COD for the first time, a special focus was given to the development and acquisition of intelligent technologies at a time when the Albanian Government is increasingly supporting the progress of the startup and innovation ecosystem, as well as the support of artificial intelligence. I supported the idea for this cooperation with Metropolitan University from the beginning, for this very interesting project. The greatest pleasure was when I saw that this innovative competition managed to provide passionate robotics students with an environment to learn through practice how robotic systems work”, said Eridana Çano, General Director of COD.
UMT President Arjan Çukaj said that RoboTech is another challenging initiative of Metropolitan University, which beyond computer science, engineering, architecture, and economics, is now affirmed as the first institution in Albania to offer the entire cycle of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems.
“RoboTech has a very inspiring history because it was born as an idea within Metropolitan University, from our students, like student Gledi Taçe, with the support of educators, in the form of a student club, and then by offering training for high school students. “RoboTech” is not just a competition but a powerful initiative aimed at fostering the creativity and talent of students. This is a big step forward to encourage knowledge in the world of advanced technology. We have created this platform as an attractive and supportive environment, where students had the opportunity to explore, build, and develop their skills,” said Çukaj.
UMT President also appreciated the presence of the Minister of Economy, Culture, and Innovation by offering partnership in modernizing public services and offering innovative products.
““I want to offer our cooperation today, Mr. Minister, with all our teams, educators, and the best experts in innovation, robotics, artificial intelligence, coding, computer science to achieve what we have been saying for years: cohesion between policymaking, university, and private sector with one goal: To develop young people by offering more than dignified alternatives to stay in Albania, because the opportunities are numerous. And who better than a university that possesses scientific knowledge, resources, and energy can do this, but also to set a good example, to build a meaningful symbol of cooperation between the public sector and the university,” said Mr. Çukaj.
Meanwhile, the jury composed of well-known names from various fields such as producer Ledion Liço, Edona Bilali, Member of the Albanian Parliament, Eridana Çano, COD Director, Ardit Gavani from inTech company, Evis Plaku, doctoral student in artificial intelligence at UMT, Sokol Bardhi, Advisor at MEKI and Shqipe Berisha, Tumo Director.
Among many quality works, the first prize was won by “Ismail Qemali” high school, while the second prize was won by “Andon Zako Çajupi” high school and the third prize by “Sami Frashëri” high school. Also, during the two days, different citizens had the opportunity to visit the robot exhibition at COD, where they voted for their favorite with the Audience Award, which was awarded to “Ibrahim Rugova” high school.
Best Innovators Team u fitua nga gjimnazi ”Ibrahim Rugova”
Best Creative Team u fitua nga gjimnazi ”Kristaq Rama”
Best Team u fitua nga gjimnazi ”Partizani”
Best Wonder Team u fitua nga gjimnazi ”Besnik Sykja”
Best Green Team u fitua nga gjimnazi ”Petro Nini Luarasi”
Best Social Robot u fitua nga gjimnazi ”Qemal Stafa”
Çmimi i Publikut u fitua nga gjimnazi ” Ibrahim Rrugova”
Çmimi i Imazhi u fitua nga gjimnazi ”Ismail Qemali ”
Çmimi i Piramidës u fitua nga gjimnazi ”Ismail Qemali ”
In this first edition of the RoboTech competition organized by University Metropolitan Tirana and the Center for Openness and Dialogue (COD) at the Prime Minister’s Office, high schools “Partizani”, “Besnik Sykja”, “Petro Nini Luarasi”, “Andon Zako Cajupi”, “Ismail Qemali”, “Kristaq Rama”, “Qemal Stafa”, “Ibrahim Rugova” and “Sami Frashëri” participated.T