From left to right: Mr. Adison Rowe, Ms. Dana Enoka, Ms. Uleina Eraio, Ms. Kimiora Vogel, and Mr. Kaha Ellison

The Cook Islands is a small remote country made up of 15 islands with a total population of 15,000. All of our team members live on the main island of Rarotonga, which has a population of 11,000 people. These students attend Tereora College, the largest college on the island.

This year’s Hydrogen Horizons Renewable Energy theme is important to us because our country is directly affected by the negative impacts of climate change.

Our government has set ambitious goals to become 100% reliant on renewable energy in the near future and has invested significantly in climate adaptation and mitigation strategies for our nation. We hope to inspire world leaders to set similar ambitious targets and invest in STEM education and research to create solutions that will reduce our global carbon footprint and help fight climate change.

The Centre of Excellence in Information Technology (CEIT) organized a National Robotics Competition in 2019 and again in 2023 to inspire youths to take an interest in STEM education and careers. CEIT founded the Code Avengers and Robotics Clubs, which aim to make STEM fun and accessible to children and youths. Mr. Jim Nimerota currently leads our Code Avengers and Robotics youth programme. Ms. Tiare Kauvai is the former Co-Captain of the 2019 Team Cook Islands. Together, Jim and Tiare will be mentoring the Team in preparation for the FIRST Global Challenge in Singapore.

Our aim is to represent our country with pride, inspire future generations, and demonstrate that technology can drive positive change and have global impacts regardless of our size. Let’s meet the Team!

Kahana Ellison (14) enjoys science and technology and hopes to expand his knowledge of coding and robotics through this FIRST Global robotics Challenge. He has been learning about Robotics for some time and hope to expand his skills through this competition. Kahana believes that this year’s challenge, renewable energy solutions, is an important theme, as each country should be searching for ways to reduce pollution and our global carbon footprint.

Uleina Eraio (14) is inspired to join this robotics challenge due to her interest in marine biology, physics, geography, and English. She loves solving puzzles, digital design, and engineering, and hopes to explore and share her passion for science with others. Uleina aspires to travel the world, meet new people, and learn more about their different cultures. Her ambition is to contribute towards innovative technologies and solutions that solve our fast-growing pollution problems and save our planet.

Kimiora Vogel (15) finds science and engineering very interesting and hopes to gain more experience in IT and engineering, which is why she joined this FIRST Global challenge. She hopes to get to know more people and share new experiences with each other throughout this challenge. “Finding renewable energy solutions is important to me because it reduces air pollution and combats climate change. Climate change would affect my home very much due to the rising sea levels.”

Adison Rowe (15) is a proud Cook Islander with a background in and passion for robotics and problem-solving. “Growing up in Rarotonga, a culturally rich and diverse community, inspired me to interplay tradition and innovation. My aspirations lie in being successful in all I put my mind to. This incredible journey not only allows me to showcase my technical expertise and the opportunity to work with a great team, but it also presents a unique platform to champion a sustainable future through technology.”

Dana Enoka (15) loves socializing, getting to know new people, learning new things, and enjoying new hobbies in her spare time. “My father was my key inspiration to join robotics because he is very into IT himself. He is quite experienced in IT, and I’m excited to be able to participate in the FIRST Global Challenge because I know it’ll make him proud. I’m also excited to participate to extend my knowledge and experience in IT and engineering and to meet new people with different experiences.”

Together we can inspire, innovate and change the world!

Team Media

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