The Itkan Institute of Technology was founded by Dr. Mohamed Ebeida, a research scientist at Sandia National Laboratories. The story began in 2016 in New Mexico, where Dr. Ebeida led a Muslim robotics team to victory, earning 25 trophies and winning the NM regionals tournament. In 2021, he relocated to Dallas and established the first Muslim community robotics hub in Dallas.
Itkan expanded its operations to more than 36 teams in the Dallas-DFW area. Not only that, within 3 years, Itkan expanded to another 11 states establishing more than 100 teams. The program is operated by dedicated volunteer coaches (parents) and mentors from STEM-related and other professions. The vision of ITKAN is to create and expand a network of teams that share knowledge and experiences, spreading a passion for STEM and fostering excellence in science and technological disciplines.The goal of ITKAN is to facilitate and support its teams’ participation across its chapters in FIRST®️ LEGO®️ League, FIRST®️ Tech Challenge, and FIRST®️ Robotics Competition in alignment with its mission and vision.
When ITKAN was founded, it was established with the intention of empowering Muslims with technological knowledge as a cornerstone for the revival of the Muslim community. To fully actualize this vision, integrating Islamic Tarbiyah and leadership training into the robotics teams was essential. Similarly, Tawasaw was founded with a resolute mission to uplift the Muslim community through Tarbiyah, self development and leadership education, recognizing STEM as a vital component in empowering Muslims to excel as leaders and innovators in the modern world.When the founders of both organizations met, their partnership went beyond a mere alignment of vision and mission—it was an essential and transformative convergence of purpose. Each organization completed what the other had been seeking: ITKAN found the Tarbiyah and leadership training essential to its mission in Tawasaw’s curriculum, while Tawasaw discovered in ITKAN the technological empowerment and STEM innovation critical to its vision. Together, they realized that their paths were not just aligned but intrinsically bound. The Tawasaw-Itkan Silicon Valley Team is not considered as a chapter, but rather as a second headquarter for Itkan. Similarly, Itkan’s first Headquarters in the Dallas DFW area is considered now as a second headquarters for Tawasaw.