{"id":2970,"date":"2020-01-29T13:53:35","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T18:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/?p=2970"},"modified":"2026-03-26T08:14:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T12:14:31","slug":"first-is-a-family-affair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/academic\/first-is-a-family-affair\/","title":{"rendered":"FIRST is a Family Affair!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FIRST is a Family Affair!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An interview with Team 3339 BumbleB\u2019s\nmentor Yarden Saad<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Gavin St. Pierre<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently talked with Yarden\nSaad, a robotics mentor to FIRST Robotics team #3339 BumbleB to learn about his\ninvolvement in FIRST <\/em>and how both he\nand the team have grown since Yarden joined its rookie year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIRST team 3339, BumbleB, is based\nin Kfar Yona, HaMerkaz, Israel and have an impressive track record having won\nnot only FIRST<\/em> Israel but also\nWorlds\u2019 Divisions. Yarden has described the spirit of the team as \u201calways wanting\nto get better and improve.\u201d Saad currently serves as the team\u2019s CAD and mechanical\nmentor overseeing the fabrication of the robot, and he brings both personal and\nprofessional engineering experience to the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saad was first introduced to\nFIRST in 2009, after seeing an article announcing that his school would be\nstarting a robotics team.  At that time\nthere were not any other technology related clubs at the school.  He joined the team as a 10th<\/sup>\ngrader and credits his FIRST<\/em>\nexperience as having heavily influenced his choice of career.  \u201cFIRST<\/em>\nallowed me to imagine something for the future, it was like a dream for me.\u201d Saad\nrecalled.  One of the BumbleB\u2019s sponsors\nwas a manufacturing company, and they allowed Saad to work on the manufacturing\nfloor where he learned first-hand about the process of designing and manufacturing.  \u201cI\u2019ve learned so much about the process of\ndesigning and manufacturing a product through FIRST<\/em>.  In fact, my final\ndegree project at university was very small compared to the complexity of\ndesigning and building a robot.\u201d  Saad\nalso commented that he \u201chopes more schools would offer engineering programs,\nbecause as he realized very early on, the future is going digital.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Saad works as a project\nmanager in the automobile industry, and he remains a dedicated FRC mentor. Since\n2017 he has also served as the head judge for FTC in Israel and has judged the\nchampionship events in Romania for the past 2 years.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a mentor, Saad teaches his\nmentees how to use Solid Edge 3D CAD software because it can help to solve\ndesign issues virtually, saving time and materials.  Saad shared that he finds Solid Edge to be a\ngreat tool for his high school mentees because it is easy to learn and his\nstudents \u201cget it\u201d quickly.   This year,\nhe also plans to introduce the new Introduction to Wiring\nyour FIRST Robot<\/a> tutorial to help the BumbleB\u2019s address some problems they\nencountered last year around the wiring of a double-sided arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Saad this will be a very busy\nyear because he\u2019s also pursuing a master\u2019s degree in business administration.  Nevertheless, he\u2019ll continue to mentor his\nbeloved B\u2019s, and he\u2019ll have a little help, because for Saad FIRST<\/em> has become a family affair!  Both of his brothers are involved with\nmentoring First Lego League and First Robotics Competition teams, his mother\nvolunteers regularly as a First Lego League judge, and his father helped the\nteam getting its new facility.   I guess it is safe to say that the Saad family\nvalues the impact FIRST <\/em>can have in a\nstudent\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best of luck to the BumbleB\u2019s this season! \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch the BumbleB’s robot reveal in this video <\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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