Global challenge focuses on protecting biodiversity

PANAMA CITY: The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Education, is participating in the First Global Challenge 2025, held in Panama City, Republic of Panama. The competition, which runs until November 1, sees participation from over 190 countries worldwide.
Oman is represented by a national team comprising three students who qualified for the international event from schools in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate. The team members are Ziyad al Ismaili from Shaikh Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Kindi School, Al Khalil al Aufi from Bilarab bin Sultan School, and Al Khalil al Kindi from Abi Obaidah School. The team is supervised by Ibrahim al Balushi from the Department of Innovation and Scientific Olympiad at the Ministry of Education and led by trainer Ahmed al Aufi from the Innovation and Scientific Olympiad Section at the Directorate-General of Education in Al Dakhiliyah.
This participation is part of the Ministry of Education's efforts to embed a culture of innovation in education and develop students' skills in the fields of science, engineering and artificial intelligence. This aligns with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040 to prepare a generation of innovators who can contribute to building a knowledge-based economy founded on innovation and technology.
This year's competition focuses on protecting biodiversity. Student teams from various countries are competing to design robots that compete in an arena simulating the preservation of natural systems that support the health of humans and the planet. Through this, they aim to raise awareness among youth about the importance of ecological diversity.
The competition aims to empower students to utilise their scientific and innovative capabilities to build robots capable of performing engineering tasks that simulate contemporary global challenges. It seeks to promote understanding and cooperation among the world's youth.