Cairo- With Steve Jobs to inspire him, Mohamed el-Rafei started his scientific journey while only a little boy, struggling with the challenge to manufacture a very primitive robot. El-Rafei, now 24, is a graduate in mechanical production from the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University. When he was small, before electronic games were the only source of amusement for many children, he loved watching scientific programmes for kids. "Children nowadays are addicted to touch-screen games, killing the desire to create and implement scientific theories that they study at school," he told the Egyptian Mail. The young engineer was different from many of his colleagues who kept their scientific dreams to themselves. El-Rafei wanted to share his dreams for technological innovation with his friends; he even wanted to get people who weren't of a scientific bent interested in them. He believes that, when ordinary people plunge into the sea of discovery, they will find themselves returning to the physical and chemical theories they studied at school, which they have forgotten all about, because their life revolves around a very routine job. El-Rafei said that the ex-regime corrupted education and scientific research. "When I was a student and tried to participate in the Japanese competition Robocon, I was astonished how badly organised and marketed it was by the Radio and TV Union," he added. Robocon is a prestigious event in which engineering students compete to design the best robot for a specific challenge. Initiated by the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union in 2002, the annual competition is designed to foster strategic thinking, leadership and team-building skills. In order to fight the tough conditions for innovators in Egypt, especially in the field of technology and robots, el-Rafei has launched ‘Cord'. Cord (Competition for Robot Design) is a unique project, whose purpose is to increase the technological awareness of young people by getting them to help develop the Arab world's smart entertainment sector. El-Rafei, who has built a robot in his own home, would like every citizen to recall the science he studied at school. "In Egypt, it's very expensive for engineers to work in robot technology, but in a country like Japan it's different. There, robots play a big role in culture and business. "I hope that this technology will find a market and investors here in the near future. I believe that, if anyone wants to do something, he'll do it; if we keep on blaming our leaders and managers, we'll never get anywhere. "God has created everything around us, but we have to contemplate and exploit our knowledge of physics and chemistry, so we can benefit from this. "When I was in sixth primary, there was an explosion when our teacher was showing us an experiment in the lab at school. That inspired me to make my first robot,” he recalled. "I made the robot from old bits of metal. My teacher was delighted, because he could use it to mix hazardous chemicals during one of his dangerous reactions.” El-Rafei believes he has a mission to get innovators, scientists, businessmen and ordinary members of the public to work better together. Cord doesn't just offer business or technological solutions to engineers, but also to adults who are eager to apply science to their lives and encourage their children to study science. El-Rafei has also come up with a smart technology competition for children, to help them develop their scientific skills and see how these skills can have a tangible effect in their lives. "I have created this page to describe my passions in a world where Mother Technology and Mother Nature are always fighting to control mankind. Please feel free to ask about and use the service I am offering." This is what el-Rafei has written on his Facebook page, in order to spread his vision.
