Welcome to the first issue of the Alumiboti Blog! 🤖
FIRST is more than robots. The robots are a vehicle for students to learn important life skills. Kids often come in not knowing what to expect – of the program nor of themselves. They leave, even after the first season, with a vision, with confidence, and with a sense that they can create their own future.
FIRST Co-Founder Dean Kamen
FIRST, which stands for “For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology”, is a nonprofit organization founded by Dean Kamen in 1989. Structured around a high-school robotics competition, the FIRST Robotics Competition is much more than just a competition, combining gracious professionalism with technology to create an environment that fosters a deeper appreciation for science and technology. Professional mentors and college students partner with teams to teach students valuable engineering and professional skills while helping the team succeed.
Furthermore, FIRST teams are encouraged to spread the word to increase appreciation of Science, Technology, Engineering & Math in society.
In addition to the FIRST Robotics Competition that the Alumiboti competes in, FIRST also sponsors the FIRST Tech Challenge, designed for high school teams that may not have the resources to participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition. For younger students, FIRST has developed the FIRST Lego League program.
Gracious Professionalism is part of the ethos of FIRST. It’s a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community.
Gracious Professionalism, fierce competition, and mutual gain are not separate notions. Gracious professionals learn and compete like crazy but treat one another with respect and kindness. They avoid treating anyone like losers. No chest-thumping tough talk, but no sticky-sweet platitudes either. Instead, knowledge, competition, and empathy are comfortably blended.
At FIRST, Coopertition (Cooperation + Competition) produces innovation. Coopertition is displaying unqualified kindness and respect in the face of fierce competition. Coopertition is founded on the concept and a philosophy that teams can and should help and cooperate with each other even as they compete. Coopertition involves learning from teammates. It is teaching teammates. It is learning from Mentors. And it is managing and being managed. Coopertition means always competing, but assisting and enabling others when you can.
So why subscribe to this newsletter, you may be asking yourself.
Because we will be sharing fun, exciting, and inspirational experiences that we encounter through our robotics team that we hope others can learn from and appreciate.
We will share the latest team updates, build season updates, workshop sessions, and more! We hope to provide a good mix of practical know-how and best practices for a FIRST team to emulate.
Make sure to follow us on our other social media as well; Twitter and Instagram.
See you out there!