Quote:
Originally posted by ProjectRebirth7
I'm a former robotics member from the US, and I've been interested in forming a FIRST robotics team in my high school in Japan. I've already seen that many students here have great potential as a team member, but I have yet to see the tools and the workspace, among a myriad of other concerns.
I'd like to hear how the few British and South American teams have come to hear of the FIRST organization and how they managed to make the entire experience work out for them. I'm particularly interested in FIRST's policy concerning foriegn schools entering their organization, as well as how much time, money and people it took to make it happen.
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Hi,
Great to hear we may have some more international teams in the near future.
First, how we got to know FIRST:
The principal of our school was on a conference at Arthur Andersen in Europe, and Dean Kamen was one of the speakers. Nobody really knows the specifics, but he was
obviously speaking about FIRST and she got interested. Upon talking to him, he seemed a bit surprised but gave her some contact information and, bang, we're here.
She went out to contact FIRST and they gave us some really good advice, including a great team to mentor us (23 from Plymouth, MA). Mr Phil Benevento, a member of that team came to Brazil in 2000 (rookie year) and helped us raise the team. We were in a situation similar to yours, it appears, as all we had was a portable drill and some screwdrivers. Needless to say, that was one expensive year to us. (advice: buy quality stuff and you won't visit the store for a while
)
We had all the sorts of problems rookie can get, plus 5000+ miles away from every other team. The following years were a lot more succesful, and now we've got a pretty established team.
The hardest part is to get sponsors, but I think it'll be a little easier for you in Japan. Oh, about the workspace: we build the robot during the summer vacations, so we just move from robotics room to a regular, larger classroom.
Quote:
Originally posted by ProjectRebirth7
I'm also interested in what FIRST's aim was in the beginning and what it is now. Specifically, Dean Kamen once stated that the FIRST organization was formed to change the culture and society of America. And although many consider this to be normal, many members here have only thought about FIRST reaching out to more high schools and organizations in the US and about reaching a larger National recognition. Not all of us have said/posted these things, and most of those that say it probably have never thought of FIRST as a truly international organization. It's been over ten years since this organization began and the number of teams that has been involved in FIRST has grown from 20 to over a thousand. Has FIRST's vision evolved into something that can be shared on a global scale? Is it possible that FIRST can become an International league of smarts? Or is it too early? Is there a cultural, social and environmental barrier between America and other major countries? Will putting things on a larger global scale discourage local teams to participate?
Please keep in mind that I have not posted an opinion but a topic.
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That really is a bit odd; In speeches, you'll probably hear FIRST is for America. However, talking to their founders/CEOs/Big bosses in person, you see that they want it to spread to the world, with more teams and even "international regionals". Still, we're a long way from that. The change from USFIRST to FIRST kinda proves that. Anf if it doesn't, at least they show us some respect. j/k