Al Jazeera News, Taanayel :After more than five years of brutal conflict, Hope of Syria may sound like an ambitious name – but this young team of robot engineers is eager to help shoulder the responsibility of rebuilding their country.The team, composed entirely of Syrian refugee students, recently won a national robotics competition in Lebanon, when their robot, SYR01, managed to shoot the most balls into a net. They will now compete in the Vex world robotics competition on April 20 in the US state of Kentucky, coming up against some 450 other teams from around the world.While winning the tournament is their first priority, team member Amjad al-Homsi, 17, says they also want to draw attention to the plight of Syrians.”[It’s about] putting the spotlight on Syrians,” Homsi, the team’s engineering network manager, told Al Jazeera. “We want to tell them that instead of the bad or difficult circumstances, they can do something – they can rebuild.” Homsi, who is originally from Damascus, says that when he returns to Syria, he wants to continue in this field, working in mechatronics, which combines mechanical, computer and electrical engineering.
