"The world of technology is moving forward so fast that we can no longer just watch it, but it forces us to actively participate and take action. Therefore, we want to further introduce students to technology so that they can compare their knowledge across the country," explains the main organiser of the competition, Tadeáš Salaba from the company Technological Literacy.
The school round of the competition will take place online on 24 March 2023. The most successful 25 teams will then advance to the final round, which will take place on 14 April 2023 at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering (FEE) of the Czech Technical University in Prague. This year, the organisers expect a higher turnout than last year, i.e. more than 1,200 students.
Teams of up to three people from grammar schools and industrial secondary schools from all over the Czech Republic can compete by registering on the Olympiad website www.teol.cz. Individual teachers can also register to see their students' results. The Technology Olympiad is not about speed, memorizing patterns and definitions, but students need to be able to find the information they need, use it correctly, work out the assignment and present the results to a panel of experts to succeed. From the school round, 25 teams will advance to the final round at the FEE CTU in Prague.
"We would like to build on the experience and emotions that the students will take away on the final day. We are not creating the Olympiad only for the winners, but for all 25 teams that will make it to the finals. We care about them trying to sell their idea and most importantly, to build a positive relationship with technical schools. Maybe this will be the imaginary flame that we can ignite in them," Salaba adds.
In addition to the competition itself, the programme on 14 April will consist of a morning session of lectures on current technology trends, while mentors will be available to participants throughout the day to cover individual topics in electromobility, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cryptocurrencies and 3D printing. Mentors will be on hand to assist the competitors professionally with their final presentations. Students will be able to contact them during the day to consult their idea.
"Our faculty supports the Technology Olympiad mainly because it can attract a new generation of high school students to study science and technology thanks to its attractive form," said Prof. Petr Páta, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of CTU. The Faculty of Electrical Engineering of CTU develops cutting-edge research on all major technological trends that will affect the way we work, travel, spend our leisure time and live in the future. From space technologies or telecommunications networks, to alternative energy sources and artificial intelligence, to robotics or cyber security - all these future phenomena can be not only scientifically researched but also studied at the FEE CTU.
The first year of the Technology Olympiad at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the CTU in Prague was dominated by the Kosora team from the Mnichovo Hradiště Gymnasium. Students Lukáš Soustružník, Dan Razák and Filip Kolomazník impressed the jury with their presentation on wireless charging of electric cars. Their solution is based on a resonant induction system with a coil that moves autonomously around the parking lot and recharges parked cars as needed.
The Technology Olympiad project is run under the auspices of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague and the Ministry of Education; the general partner is ŠKODA AUTO and the expert guarantors are ČEZ a.s., GasNet s.r.o. and Unicorn a.s.
A gallery of photos from last year's event can be found here