1. The Malta Robo League
Malta Robo League is a STEM education program designed for young children (7 to 11 years). Teams made up of to 6 members will be guided by an adult mentor to explore and research a real-world problem related to this year’s theme ‘Climate Change’. They are challenged to design and develop a solution which includes a model using any robotic kit (e.g. WeDo, Engino, Sphero, Microbit). This program will enable participants learn how to apply their classroom knowledge to a real-world application.
For more information on Malta Robo League, please check out: www.mromalta.com or contact Mr Keith Aquilina, Education Officer (Digital Literacy), Directorate of Digital Literacy & Transversal Skills.
2. Rules & Regulations
A team must have a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of six (6) children from 7 to 11 (year 4 to year 6). Children may be members of only one (1) Malta Robo League team. Each team needs to be guided by at least one adult mentor.
Teams must demonstrate completion of all three (3) steps of the Project (identify a problem, develop an innovative solution, and share with others) as part of their presentation.
Step 1: Identify
Identify a real world problem related to this year’s theme ‘Our Planet’. Research the problem to develop a possible solution. Where possible, teams should share their initial ideas with experts in the field to acquire knowledge which will help them in their project.
Step 2: Design
Teams build a representation of what they are researching, incorporating movement into their creation through the use of a robotic kit. Teams will use any robotic kit to animate their model thus learning basic engineering and programming concepts in the process.
Step 3: Share
Finally prepare a 5 minutes presentation to share your work with the judges, other teams and the general public during MRO. Your presentation has to include a poster and the robotic model. The presentation may also include slideshows, props, costumes, and more. Be creative but make sure that you introduce your problem, solution, and how you shared your idea. The Presentation poster should not be larger than 100cm (width) by 80 cm (height).
The presentation will be followed with a 5 minute Q&A session led by the judges.
Presentations to judges for primary school teams will be held during school hours.
On Friday 20th evening, Saturday and Sunday, teams are urged to showcase their projects to the public.
Time line to accomplish this project will be as follows:
- Mentor Information Session: 30th October (Tasks, Rules & Regulations)
- Mentor training: 6th November
- Registration deadline: 15th November
- Practice time: November till March
- Expo Presentation: March 2019 @ MRO
Any team can participate and can choose to apply either privately, as part of an entity or through a school.
The DDLTS labs will be available for teams wishing to make use of our premises or expertise on Fridays between 2.30pm and 5pm. Mentors should call to book a place on 25981564 or email keith.aquilina@ilearn.edu.mt
3. Mentoring
Teams can be registered as representative of a school, an entity or private. Thus for example,
The DDTLS will be organising an information session for mentors and FREE Malta Robo League mentor training. These will be held at the DDTLS premises at Hamrun.
The information sessions will give mentors an overview of the rules and regulations and further details on the program.
The FREE Malta Robo League mentor training designed for mentors as preparation for the Malta Robo League program. This will include training on how to run a team and training with the robotic kits available in schools i.e. Lego Wedo and Sphero.
Free microbit kits and training to first 15 teams who show interest.
4. Evaluation
The projects will be evaluated by experts, who will provide each team with feedback and ask clarifying questions when needed.
The feedback will be based on the following criteria:
5. MRO presentation
The mentor is responsible for the team members safety and well being during the MRO.
Team members are advised to wear similar clothing at the completion to stand out in the crowd.
Team is responsible for personal belongings including project and related equipment.
6. Awards
Each participating team who successfully follows the rules and regulations is a winning team. Extra effort will be rewarded accordingly.
Participants will also be awarded with token prizes gently provided by MRO sponsors.
We encourage participants to enjoy this challenge for the sake of the experience, learning and fun within the Malta Robotics Olympiad.
