By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
Egypt’s Minister of
Communications and Information Technology, Raafat Hendy, has honored
10-year-old Martyros Mina for his achievements in programming and robotics,
including strong performances in local and international competitions.
The recognition forms part
of the Ministry’s efforts to identify and support promising young technology
talent and encourage children to develop advanced digital skills from an early
age.
The meeting was attended by
Hoda Baraka, Advisor to the ICT Minister for Technology Talent Development, as
well as Martyros’ parents.
Hendy described young
technology talent as a national asset and said the Ministry is focused on
creating an environment that enables young innovators to develop their skills,
pursue technological innovation and participate in international competitions.
He highlighted the
Ministry’s Digital Egypt Marvels (DEMI) and Digital Egypt Cubs (DECI)
initiatives, which provide specialised technology training programmes for
children across different age groups.
Martyros, a fourth-grade
student, began learning programming and robotics at an early age. He built his
first robot at the age of five and started formal programming studies at six.
At seven, he participated in his first local competition before progressing to
international competitions by the age of eight.
He has competed in countries
including China, Estonia and Romania, where he has earned several awards and
high rankings. Among his recent achievements is a gold medal in an
international Python programming competition held in China, where he ranked
among the top two percent of participants globally.
During the meeting, Martyros
also presented one of his projects, a tour-guide robot modelled after King
Tutankhamun and designed to introduce visitors to Egyptian antiquities at the
Egyptian Museum.
In recognition of his
abilities, Hendy directed that Martyros be considered for early admission to
DECI’s robotics and embedded systems track, despite being below the programme’s
standard age requirement.
Martyros will first undergo
an assessment of his programming capabilities to determine the appropriate
training level and track for his continued development.
The Minister also presented
the young innovator with a laptop and robotics kits to support his continued
learning and enable him to further develop his ideas into practical technology
projects.
