Two tech-savvy Jordanian teenage sisters embrace robotics

AMMAN — Two Jordanian teenage sisters, Leen, 17, and Tala Al Fityani, 16, who learned the basics of robotics on the Internet, are topping leaderboards at robotics competitions’ regionally and nationally.

“I got into robotics when I first got the chance to participate in training in Jordan back in 2018. I got motivated to try to learn more about robotics on the Internet and I was eager to continue after I built my first robot,” Leen told The Jordan Times.

She noted that at the beginning, she thought that robotics was difficult.

“After a while, I realised that it was easier and more interesting than I expected. My first accomplishment was winning first place in presentation in the FLL worldwide competition. Then it was the Codeavour 2020 competition in India, where my sister and I won third place worldwide. We also won second place in Codeavour 2021,” Leen said.

According to Leen, she and her sister won first place in the SheHacks competition in Jordan, first place in Sumo Robotics in Jordan, and second place worldwide in the Genius Olympiad competition.

After winning in the Codeavour 2020 competition, HRH Crown Prince Hussein met with Leen and Tala.

“Meeting the Crown Prince was a great experience. He motivated us to continue participating in competitions and to represent our country,” Leen added.

She said that she also underwent training in Jordan from Robotna, Thinking Oasis, Pioneers Academy and Princess Sumaya University for Technology.

“I am currently not participating in competitions until after graduating high school,” Leen added.

The robotics field is getting more exposure now, Leen said, noting that Jordan should have more initiatives to motivate young generations to learn more about it, especially girls.

Tala said that she became interested in robotics through her sister Leen. 

“When I saw her participating in many competitions, I became more motivated to start too. I am dedicated to continuing in this field because I believe that it will be the main driver of the future,”  Tala told The Jordan Times.

“During our journey, we financed our projects from our own expenses, so our main financial support came from our family, which is challenging,” they said.

Leen and Tala indicated that they plan to continue in the field of robotics and to work together to establish a business and spread knowledge of the field of robotics in Jordan.

“I have many prototypes done, and I am planning to actually make them real and work on them after graduating,” Leen said.