It seems as though everyone woke up, one day, and realized that there was a group of students “secretly” meeting behind closed doors. What are they doing? What is FLL?

In the 2015-2016 FIRST LEGO League Challenge, 290,000 children ages 9 to 16 from over 80 countries will explore the fascinating world of what you throw away. From collection, to sorting, to smart production and reuse, there is more to your garbage than meets the eye.

F.I.R.S.T. is an acronym which stands for [For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology]. It was founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology.

After a 1998 partnership between FIRST and LEGO came the FIRST LEGO League International Program (FLL) which introduces 9 to 14 year-olds to both fun and experience in solving real-world problems by applying math, science, and technology.

Each September, FLL announces an annual Challenge to teams from around the world, and after eight intense weeks, the FLL season culminates at high-energy, sports-like tournaments between thousands of children from around the world.

In March of 2018, a total of 133 teams competed from around Egypt, and NIS proudly competed alongside 30 other private schools.

NIS was recognized in the category of Gracious Professionalism. It is part of the ethos of FIRST and focuses on the methodology of doing things in a way that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the values of others, and respects individuals and the community.

It is a fundamental part of pursuing a meaningful life. Anyone can do a job, but not all people can do the job with integrity, determination, and impeccable poise as those that are recognized in the category of Gracious Professionalism.

The innovative team from NIS-American meets every Thursday and Saturday, after classes, for four hour sessions of measuring, calculating, building, and programming. They are one month into their project and have just four months left to submit their finished project and hope to qualify for the Region’s Championship. To do this, they will have to deliver a fully functional, programmed robot, capable of executing assigned tasks in a specified amount of time.