It is today that tomorrow’s innovators must be inspired and challenged. Always committed to the fostering of young talents, this is why the ROSEN Group has now become a sanctioned partner of the FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) and as such will be hosting an FLL Regional Tournament in its location in Lingen, Germany, on Saturday, 25 November, 2017.

FFL was established in 1998, when the founder of the international youth organization FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), Dean Kamen, and the owner of the LEGO Group, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, joined forces in an effort to encourage teams of children and youngsters “to research, build, and experiment, and by doing so, […] live the entire process of creating ideas, solving problems, and overcoming obstacles, while gaining confidence in their abilities to positively use technology.”

In this competition, the teams are presented with a challenge that refers to a current real-world problem, such as food safety, recycling, energy, etc. With the help of adult coaches, they must do the necessary research and then develop a solution. Moreover, they must design, build, and program a robot using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technology, which will then compete on a table-top playing field. More than 32,000 teams from 88 countries compete at 1,464 events. This adds up to more than 255,000 young creative minds focused on improving today the world of tomorrow.

The development of competencies in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and math), which traditionally form the basis of a career in the energy sector, are an important objective of the FIRST LEGO League. One of the organizers’ declared goals is to engage “children in playful and meaningful learning while helping them discover the fun in science and technology.” Staying true to the motto “empowered by technology,” ROSEN is proud to play an active part in the promotion of this important cause.

Yet, the scientific aspect of the competition is only part of ROSEN’s motivation to host the FLL Regional Tournament, whose champions will compete in the European Semi Finals. Equally as important is the strong emphasis on the FLL Core Values, which include working in a team, learning together, honoring the spirit of friendly competition, placing knowledge gain over winning, and sharing valuable experiences.  These values are very much in line with the objectives of ROSEN’s own youth initiative ROYOUTH, and they play an integral role in the betterment of our industry – and the world as a whole.

1 http://www.firstlegoleague.org/about-fll#block-block-12 , 20 July 2017.

2 Ibid.

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