Good results at the "FIRST LEGO League World Tournament"-Elementary and junior high school teams supported by SAP Japan

　SAP Japan announced on May 30th that a robot was created through a practical robotics program held by the US non-profit organization FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and The LEGO Group (Lego). It was announced that the elementary and junior high school teams supported by the company achieved good results in the competition "FIRST LEGO League".

Robert Enslin, president of SAP Japan, was in good spirits throughout the day and talked about corporate citizenship activities.

Regarding the significance of developing corporate citizenship activities, Robert Enslin, CEO of SAP Japan, said, "It is natural for a company to contribute to the local community where it operates. We have to think about the development of the region," he said.

　SAP's corporate citizenship activities are developed in the areas of "education" and "governance", but in Japan, corporate citizenship activities first started in the area of ​​"education". Participation in the FIRST LEGO League is one such initiative. "Education is essential to innovate in technology," said Enslin.

　SAP Japan has supported children who challenge the FIRST LEGO League since 2005. In late April and early May 2006, he participated in the World Championships held in Atlanta, Georgia and Eindhoven, the Netherlands, with 24 players from three teams aged 9 to 15. 7,500 teams from 31 countries participated in this year's competition, and 130 teams participated in the world competition.

There are 3 teams of 24 people from 9 to 15 years old who participated in the world tournament, and participating teams from each country. It is said that it has become a small place for international exchange.

The team "SAP Eleven", which participated in the "FLL World Festival" held in Atlanta, received a special prize in the team spirit category, and "SAP Edisons" won 3rd place in the teamwork category and programming. Received special prize in the category. In addition, "SAP Light Bird" participated in the "Open European Championship" held in the Netherlands and won 15th place in the robot performance category.

A competition sponsored by Lego. The trophy is also made of Lego blocks.

　FIRST LEGO League is an international educational program for children aged 9 to 14 (10 to 16 in Europe) created through a partnership between FIRST and LEGO. Robots developed based on educational Lego MINDSTORMS will not only compete for time, points, and programming skills, but there will also be research presentations based on annual themes to make learning science and technology fun. is done.

A medal awarded in the FIRST LEGO League.

　The theme for 2005 was "Ocean Odyssey - We Head to the Sea", where children studied water pollution and environmental protection, and learned about the healthy environmental conditions of the sea, biodiversity, and production. Research aimed at preserving sexuality for the next generation has been announced.

　SAP has launched the first volunteer initiative of SAP in which employees from all over the world participate in the competition. Through this program, we deepened ties with the local community and helped children discover and demonstrate their own originality. 170 SAP employees worldwide have committed to the initiative, serving as coaches and mentors for 700 children.

In addition to competitions with robots developed based on educational Lego "Mindstorms", research presentations based on themes are designed to make learning science and technology fun.

　This time, at SAP Japan, 15 employees from the company formed 5 teams together with 50 children to participate in the competition. A total of 400 people from 75 teams participated in the Japanese qualifying tournament, with four teams participating in the world tournament. Among them, 3 teams were supported by SAP Japan.

　SAP Japan has already announced their participation in the 2006 FIRST LEGO League. It is said that preparations are underway to respond to challenges based on the theme of 2006, "Nano Quest." In September 2006, missions and research tasks will be announced to each team from the FIRST LEGO League.

　In addition to FIRST LEGO League, the company has developed "University Alliances" as part of its corporate citizenship activities. It conducts regular lectures and lectures at 17 universities in Japan and provides SAP products.

　Globally, we are also conducting activities in the area of ​​governance, such as the "UN Global Compact" and "Transparency International," which address respect for human rights, clarification of international labor standards, and environmental protection.