Dr. Mohamed Gharib stands with members of the Afghan Dreamers with the robot they built to compete in the FIRST Global Challenge. |
Image: Courtesy of Dr. Mohamed Gharib
Dr. Mohamed Gharib from the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution jointly mentored the Afghan Dreamers robotics team with their coaches in preparation for their participation in the FIRST Global Challenge 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland, where they competed with teams from 162 countries.
The Afghan Dreamers is an all-women robotics team from Afghanistan founded in 2017 by Roya Mahboob as part of the Digital Citizen Fund organization.
Mahboob is the president and a board member of the Digital Citizen Fund, formally the Women's Annex Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on digital literacy to empower women and children in developing countries. Mahboob was named to TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2013 for her work building internet classrooms in high schools in Afghanistan.
Team Afghanistan consisted of 10 high schoolers and their mentors who worked as part of the Digital Citizen Fund initiative supported by the Qatar Fund for Development and Qatar Foundation.
The FIRST Global Challenge invites teams from each nation to build and program a robot to compete in an annual Olympic-style robotics competition in a different country. The teams work together to complete tasks in a game-themed form around one of the most significant challenges facing the planet, including the 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering, to foster understanding and cooperation among the youth as they use their abilities to solve world problems.
Gharib led the Digital Citizen Fund coaches to train and mentor the Afghan Dreamers in Qatar for the virtual FIRST Global Challenge 2021. He extended his mentorship in 2022 until they participated in the competition held in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Afghan Dreamers is an all-women robotics team from Afghanistan founded in 2017 by Roya Mahboob as part of the Digital Citizen Fund organization.
Mahboob is the president and a board member of the Digital Citizen Fund, formally the Women's Annex Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on digital literacy to empower women and children in developing countries. Mahboob was named to TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2013 for her work building internet classrooms in high schools in Afghanistan.
Team Afghanistan consisted of 10 high schoolers and their mentors who worked as part of the Digital Citizen Fund initiative supported by the Qatar Fund for Development and Qatar Foundation.
The FIRST Global Challenge invites teams from each nation to build and program a robot to compete in an annual Olympic-style robotics competition in a different country. The teams work together to complete tasks in a game-themed form around one of the most significant challenges facing the planet, including the 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering, to foster understanding and cooperation among the youth as they use their abilities to solve world problems.
Gharib led the Digital Citizen Fund coaches to train and mentor the Afghan Dreamers in Qatar for the virtual FIRST Global Challenge 2021. He extended his mentorship in 2022 until they participated in the competition held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Gharib stands with the Afghan Dreamers during their participation in the International Women in Engineering Day at Qatar Foundation. |
Image: Courtesy of Dr. Mohamed Gharib
"It was a great experience mentoring the talented Afghan Dreamers robotics team," Gharib said. "The students' enthusiasm and determination to learn motivated me to contribute to developing their future mentors' program."
Gharib received the Outstanding Mentor award for leading Team Qatar in robotics in the FIRST Global Challenge 2019 and the Francisco José de Caldas Award for Sustainable Excellence for mentoring Team Qatar and Team Afghanistan in the FIRST Global Challenge 2021. These awards are bestowed to committed mentors who positively impact students attending the FIRST Global Challenge, who help create solid and sustainable FIRST global programs and inspire students to push forward and overcome challenges.
"Despite incredible obstacles, the Afghan Dreamers have made remarkable advances yearly, with previous alums receiving placements in elite colleges," said Mahboob. "This generation represents even grander promise and is an inspiration to women everywhere. We have to ensure that our younger generation has access to the tools and guidance to making a better Afghanistan, to become the next scientist, entrepreneur and technologist."
“It was great to see the encouragement and support of Texas A&M University to be involved in serving local and international communities," said Gharib.
Gharib plans to expand his robotics and engineering contribution to Brazos County schools by training and mentoring new teams to compete in robotics competitions as part of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics outreach initiatives in the community led by the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution.
Gharib received the Outstanding Mentor award for leading Team Qatar in robotics in the FIRST Global Challenge 2019 and the Francisco José de Caldas Award for Sustainable Excellence for mentoring Team Qatar and Team Afghanistan in the FIRST Global Challenge 2021. These awards are bestowed to committed mentors who positively impact students attending the FIRST Global Challenge, who help create solid and sustainable FIRST global programs and inspire students to push forward and overcome challenges.
"Despite incredible obstacles, the Afghan Dreamers have made remarkable advances yearly, with previous alums receiving placements in elite colleges," said Mahboob. "This generation represents even grander promise and is an inspiration to women everywhere. We have to ensure that our younger generation has access to the tools and guidance to making a better Afghanistan, to become the next scientist, entrepreneur and technologist."
“It was great to see the encouragement and support of Texas A&M University to be involved in serving local and international communities," said Gharib.
Gharib plans to expand his robotics and engineering contribution to Brazos County schools by training and mentoring new teams to compete in robotics competitions as part of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics outreach initiatives in the community led by the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution.