Team Suriname is coming from the world’s most forested country, located in the north-east coast of South America, rich in cultures and ethnicities characterized by a unique harmony. We have taken part in FIRST Global since its inauguration in 2017 without missing one single year. Each time we enrich our team with new students we train in FGC Robotics. Our mission is to empower, build confidence through skills development and inspire opportunities of success for many via our local prep, dedicated mentors’ team and through the FIRST Global platform. This year our student team is representing 4 districts including the capital Paramaribo:

Shalini Bakaroe (18): is passionate for technology and wants to become a software developer in the future. She is looking forward to expand her horizons and grow her tech knowledge by being part of FGC 2023.

Leonardo Ranoesendjojo (16): is an ICT student eager to represent his country and inspire youth involvement in tech. Beyond his studies, Leonardo enjoys training, exploring, and embracing new learning opportunities.

Brendan Soerohardjo (18): is studying to become an application developer and is very excited to represent his country at FGC 2023. In his free time, he likes to ride motorcycles including doing the maintenance. He is ready to learn new things and to take on the FGC challenge.

Arnav Chotkan (16): is enthusiastic about robots and computers which led him to the local robotics training and FGC. He is a chess player with a passion for technology and entrepreneurship. He, also loves swimming, programming, gaming, photography and nature.

The student team is supported by two other students (alternates): Stephan Driokromo (18) and Taslima Chiragally (17).

The Lead Mentor this year is Youri Karijopawiro (20). Youri was introduced to FGC in 2020 and has been involved with robotics ever since. He was part of the official Team of 2022 to Switzerland. Youri liked tinkering and building things from a young age. A career in STEM is his dreams and being part of the robotics team allowed him to develop several important skills for his future job.

The local Mentor team also consists of: Ayan Jhagroe and Shayant Sital, both are supporting Lead Mentors with 5.5 years FGC mentoring experience along with Daniel Lachman (mentor Trainer). Furthermore, Lesley Uiterloo (senior mentor and project management support), Joel Naarendorp (senior mentor and Software Engineering student with 4.5 years of FGC mentoring experience) and Ishan Sloote (junior mentor and Electrical Engineering University student). The mentor team is complimented by 3 Trainee mentors: Gabriella Imang (17, freshman Mechanical Engineering student), Joshua van Leeuwaarde (highschool student, FRC 2023 Rookie student) and Jemero O. J. Herfst (started Robotics this year). The Team manager is Ashna Mahepal (since 2017 to date). Team Suriname: ‘’Singapore here we come’’.

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