Ghana gains global exposure at World Robot Olympiad finals in Singapore
Team Ghana has returned home from the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) in Singapore with rich experiences and lasting lessons expected to strengthen the nation’s growing robotics education sector.
The Olympiad opened on November 26, bringing together hundreds of young participants from around the world,some as young as eight who competed by designing and programming robots to tackle real-life challenges. Established in 2004 in Singapore and hosted in Turkey last year, the annual event underscores the role of science and technology in enhancing everyday life through youthful creativity.
This year’s edition set a new record, attracting participants from 91 countries, with 594 teams and 1,571 competitors taking part.
Under the theme “The Future of Robots,” the competition explored how robotics can address global problems and improve human living conditions. Ghana participated with a 35-member delegation made up of students, coaches, parents, and officials from the Ghana Robotics Academy Foundation, fielding seven teams across various categories:
• Robo Mission: One team each from the elementary, junior high, and senior high levels
• Future Innovators: Two teams from junior high and senior high
• Robo Sports: One senior high team
• Future Engineers: One team in the advanced, university-level category
Each team comprised two to three students, guided by coaches who were allowed to support multiple teams.
In the Future Innovators category, Ghanaian teams presented solutions inspired by local needs. The junior high team showcased an aquaponics system that uses robotics to control water flow and nutrient supply for plants, highlighting the potential of technology in modern agriculture. The senior high team introduced a robot designed to clean drainage systems, a solution aimed at reducing flooding caused by blocked gutters in many Ghanaian communities.
Other categories including Robo Mission, Robo Sports, and Future Engineers featured set challenges with unexpected rule changes announced on the day of competition, forcing teams to quickly adapt, redesign, and reprogram their robots.
The delegation was led by Dr. Yaw Okraku-Yirenkyi, National Organiser for WRO and a founding member of the Ghana Robotics Foundation (GRAF), who described the experience as both transformative and eye-opening for the students. While Ghana’s overall scores did not meet expectations, he stressed that the true impact of the Olympiad goes far beyond medal counts.
According to him, many of the students were attending a World Robot Olympiad for the first time, and the scale of the event, the infrastructure, and the level of innovation exceeded anything they had imagined. Participants were exposed to advanced robotics projects, international competitors, and exhibitions by global technology companies featuring humanoid robots, drones, and even supercars.
Dr. Okraku-Yirenkyi observed that students quickly realized that ideas they once considered outstanding were still below global standards. Rather than dampening their spirits, this awareness became a strong source of motivation and learning.
Ghana has been part of the World Robot Olympiad since 2012, and this year’s participation once again highlights the need for sustained investment in robotics education and international exposure. Although the team did not return with medals, Team Ghana came back with equally valuable gains-fresh inspiration, broader perspective, and renewed resolve to grow and improve.
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