Meet the Palestinian teens trying to win the gold medal in robotics

Both also serve as reminders to current team members of what is possible if they continue to pursue STEM fields. Ismail is in his third year studying computer engineering at Queen’s University, while Shanti is a freshman studying business intelligence (a combination of business applications and technology) at An-Najah National University in the West Bank.

Dalia Nasr, student of the Palestine 2025 team: Graduates, I can learn from them. There are not many robotics courses in Palestine. It’s not really common for us to have such things. So it’s a really big opportunity for me.

Ismael: At some point, I looked up to the people who had participated in previous years. The same way I inspire people, others inspire me.

righteous: We have no words to express our feelings when our first student graduates from high school, and they start thinking: “We want to be like Khalil and study computer science, or we want to actually study robotics.”

It’s been really fun to see them turn this passion into a career. The most rewarding thing for us is that when they come back for summer break, they come to volunteer with our team to share their knowledge.

The 2025 travel edition of Team Palestine, made up of five members (plus mentors), is just days away from departing for Panama City. Their robot, which Nasr says is essentially finished, will collect “biodiversity units” from a tank on the field and release them into a makeshift ecosystem, simulating real-life attempts to achieve ecological balance, which is this year’s theme.

Nasr, 16, will serve as the “human player” on the team, responsible for helping the robot shoot the biodiversity units; She jokes that she’ll rely on her limited basketball experience for support.

victory: Being able to participate in a competition where I can inspire other young Palestinians or other Palestinian students who are also interested in pursuing careers in STEM fields is truly one of the most life-changing experiences of my life. I know this is a lot of pressure on me as a person, but it’s also a really big honor.