Students from Bahçelievler July 15 Martyrs Technology, Science and Social Sciences Anatolian Imam Hatip High School returned from Canada with four world-level honors after competing in international robotics and artificial intelligence competitions.
The school's robotics and technology team, Crescent Tech, competed in the FIRA RoboWorld Cup and the EnjoyAI Americas Open Robotics Competition, held in Markham, Canada, from July 17 to 21.
The team won the world championship in the "Skyline Adventures" drone category at the EnjoyAI Americas Open. At the FIRA RoboWorld Cup, it also placed second in the "Innovation and Business" and "Mission Impossible United" categories and third in the "FIRA Air Drone" category.
Team adviser Cenkay Özen said students receive technology-focused education from their preparatory year, with training in artificial intelligence, robotics and other emerging technologies.
"Our goal is to help students turn theoretical knowledge into practical experience by participating in national and international competitions," Özen said, adding that the school has 5 international robotics teams.
Team captain Ala Almolayki said preparations began in January and intensified in the weeks leading up to the competition.
"In the drone category, our task was to read QR codes and complete the course in the shortest time possible. We completed all three stages in the fastest time and became world champions," Almolayki said.
Student Nurettin Habiboğlu's award-winning project uses radio waves to provide centimeter-level indoor positioning without being affected by obstacles, with potential applications in motion-capture systems, virtual reality and industrial robotics.
Students said they spent months preparing for the competitions, often working long hours at school. Despite technical difficulties in one category, the team secured second place, while its autonomous drone also earned the Most Improved Team Award alongside a world third-place finish.
Imam Hatip schools are public educational institutions in Türkiye that combine the national curriculum with courses in Islamic studies. While originally established to train religious officials, many now offer specialized programs in fields such as science, technology, social sciences and foreign languages, with students regularly participating in national and international academic, robotics and innovation competitions.
