Dow promotes young innovators, searching for Thailand representatives to compete in FIRST® Tech Challenge

Dow Thailand Group, in cooperation with its partners, hosted the FIRST® Tech Challenge THAILAND Season 4; inviting young engineers to join Thailand’s robotics competition under the theme “Energize,” with an emphasis on energy efficiency. The winning participants will be promoted as national teams to the international arena in the United States. The event is intended to encourage and equip Thai youths with advanced technological skills necessary for the invention of robots that are beneficial for social development in the future.

CHIANG MAI – February 8, 2023 – Dow Thailand Group, a leading global Materials Science company, the main sponsor of this competition, in collaboration with The Prince Royal's College, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), Faculty of Engineering, Chiang Mai University, and its partners, organized the 4th FIRST® Tech Challenge, Thailand’s robotics competition, for youth 12-18 years of age in order to search for talented young people to represent Thailand in the international competition next year. The theme of this competition is "Energize,” focusing on the invention and design of energy-efficient robots. Seventeen teams participated in the event from secondary schools nationwide, with the competition held 7-9 December 2022 at The Prince Royal's College, Chiang Mai Province.

“Dow is committed to earnestly and continuously promoting STEM education, which consists of four main fields—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This is the reason we sponsored this competition. Dow has partnered with FIRST to organize competitions in many countries around the world, including Thailand. We would like to provide Thai youth with opportunities to display their talents in robotics development and computer programming, and exchange knowledge with other youth teams, which can further contribute to the development of educational community. We believe that Thai children, if supported in the right way, can pave the way to a bright future and become future innovators for Thailand,” said Chatchai Luanpolcharoenchai, Dow Thailand President.

“The high-school robotics competition, or the FIRST® Tech Challenge THAILAND, marks the beginning of international standard robotics technology development in Thailand, which has been widely accepted at an international level. The winners of this competition will be eligible to represent Thailand in the grand arena in the United States in April 2023. We would like to encourage more youths across the country to join the competition so that they can have new experiences and enhance their skills related to robotics innovations. We also expect that these youths can build a reputation internationally, which is a key step for national development by means of robotics technology,” added Dr. Kriang Tidtijumreonporn, Manager and Director of The Prince Royal's College.

According to the results of the FIRST® Tech Challenge THAILAND, the Winning Alliance Award was won by EZREAL team from The Prince Royal's College, Chiang Mai Province, and CKK-ROBOT SENIOR team from Chak Kham Khanathon School, Lamphun Province. In addition, each team received a royal trophy from Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, an honorary plate, a certificate, and an FTC gold medal, as well as a scholarship of 10,000 baht.
The Finalist Alliance Award: First Runner Up was won by EasyKids Robotics team from Coding and Robotics Learning Center, Chiang Mai Province, and PRC-GC-CASPER team from The Prince Royal's College, Chiang Mai Province. Also, each team received a trophy, an honorary plate, a certificate, and an FTC silver medal, along with a scholarship of 5,000 baht.

The Finalist Alliance Award: Second Runner Up was won by PRC-GC-POWERPUNK team and LIGHTZSTAR team from The Prince Royal's College, Chiang Mai Province. Each team received a trophy, an honorary plate, a certificate, an FTC bronze medal, and a scholarship of 2,500 baht. All the finalists also received medals and certificates as special awards from the competition.

As a key sponsor of this year’s competition, Dow specifically presented the Dow Innovation Award to the team that had innovated a robot with high potential for further development for practical use, which was chosen by Dow engineers. The winner of the award is CKK-ROBOT SENIOR team from Chak Kham Khanathon School, Lamphun Province. The team received a special honorary plate, together with a robotics set worth 55,000 baht.

The FIRST® Tech Challenge THAILAND is organized on an annual basis. Those interested can find out more information and follow up on the next competition at the website and Facebook of FIRST® Tech Challenge Thailand at http://www.ftcthailand.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/FIRSTTechChallengeTHAILAND/.

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth; asset integration and scale; focused innovation and materials science expertise; leading business positions; and environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership to achieve profitable growth and deliver a sustainable future. The Company's ambition is to become the most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive, and sustainable materials science company in the world. Dow's portfolio of businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated, science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, mobility, infrastructure, and consumer applications. Dow operates 104 manufacturing sites in thirty-one countries and employs approximately 35,700 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $55 billion in 2021. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.

About Dow Thailand Group

Dow started its business in Thailand in 1967, then expanded through a joint venture with SCG in 1987 (in 2022, SCG Chemicals rebranded to SCGC). At present, Dow Thailand Group consists of Dow's wholly owned subsidiaries and SCGC-DOW joint ventures. In addition, there is also a Solvay and Dow joint venture in Thailand. Dow Thailand Group is the largest manufacturing base for Dow in the Asia Pacific, with many manufacturing facilities in Rayong province. Its strategic markets in Thailand are packaging, building and infrastructure, and mobility industries. More information could be found at https://th.dow.com/en-us or the Thai Facebook www.facebook.com/DowThailandGroup/

For further information, please contact:

Apiradee Poopirom
Dow Thailand Group
Tel. 02-3657296 / 081-8026933
Email:papiradee@dow.com

Suttipong Krotintakom
Dow Thailand Group
Tel. 038-673315 / 081-7919626
Email:skrotintakom@dow.com

Lalida, Tisadondilok
Dow Thailand Group
Tel. 02-365-7228 / 089-6687079
Email:lalida@dow.com