On July 17, EWI Chief Operating Officer Dr. William J. Parker III greeted Turkish teenagers competing in the FIRST^® Global robotics competition in Washington, D.C. 

Turkey’s Urfa STEM Team, who first came together three year ago, is a robotics group from different high schools throughout southern Turkey. The team’s five members believe that the “best product is born from the best cooperation,” and hope to use their work “to build a better future for everyone.”

Dr. Parker commended the students on their commitment to science, education, and peaceful problem solving. EWI is currently working towards opening an office in Istanbul in an effort to foster better relations between Turkey and its neighbors, the United States as well as Russia.

The robot competition is organized by FIRST^® Global that aims to provide the framework for an “Olympics”-style robotics challenge by inviting one team from every nation to participate in an international robotics event that builds bridges between high school students with different backgrounds, languages, religions, and customs.

This year’s inaugural competition brought together students from 163 countries. Next year it will be hosted in Mexico City.

EWI will honor FIRST^® Global founder Dean Kamen with the Global Change Agent Award on October 4 at the New York Athletic Club, home to Olympic athletes. FIRST^® Global President Joe Sestak, former Admiral and Congressman, modeled the competition’s global expansion on the International Olympic Committee.

For more on FIRST^® Global and Team Turkey, please see here.