The Bangladesh robotics team, set to represent the country at the FIRST Global Challenge 2024 in Athens, Greece, faced an unexpected visa denial by the Greek
Embassy in New Delhi. The team, consisting of seven high school students and four mentors from Tech Academy, applied for visas on September 4 through VFS Global but only learned of the rejection on September 17, days before their scheduled departure on September 24.

The Greek authorities cited "unreliable" information concerning the purpose of their stay as the reason for denial but provided no further details. This is a significant setback as the team has been participating in the competition since 2017 and was crowned world champions in 2020. Abdullah Al Sharfat, Administrative Mentor, BUP student and Senior Executive at The Tech Academy, expressed confusion over the Greek Embassy in New Delhi's visa rejection for Team Bangladesh, stating they had all necessary permissions, including invitation letters from the Greek Ministry, and that students held. multiple visas, including Schengen visas from their 2022 trip to Switzerland. Rashad Rauf Chowdhury, a team member from Sunbeams, shared that this was the first time their visas were denied, making the news devastating for the team.

Tech Academy's founder and CEO, Shams Jaber, expressed his disappointment, noting the lack of clarity surrounding the rejection. This year's Team Bangladesh for the FIRST Global Challenge 2024 is composed of seven high school students. Areebah Nawar Anwar, 18, from South Breeze School, Ishmam Shahrooz Chowdhury, 13, from Sunnydale, and Rashad Rauf Chowdhury, 18, from Sunbeams, Rownak Reza Haque, 15, from Bangladesh International School and College, Sabera Zainab Chaudhury, 17, and Samir Hossain-Judd, 17, both from Sunbeams, along with Syed Quafshat Taiyush Hamd, 16, from Scholastica.

Source: nutshell_today,
@fgc.bangladesh