Medium-Term Plan for International Education in Primary and Secondary Schools (TPSF)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A student robotics team from Tainan recently participated in the FIRST Robotics Competition in Houston, Texas, where they were awarded the Judges Award.

The annual competition is organized by the US-based nonprofit For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) centers around a different theme each year, focusing on global issues. It is held in a different country every year, with tailored categories for different age groups, according to FIRST.

The Tainan team, made up of students from several local senior and junior high schools, faced the challenge of competing with a robot built on a significantly smaller budget. Their robot cost about one-tenth of rival teams, which posed a notable obstacle, per CNA.

Despite this, team coach Yang Wen-cheng (楊文正) noted that the students' strategic approach played a key role in their performance. By carefully observing their opponents' strengths and weaknesses in each match, the team developed effective scoring strategies, resulting in a winning rate of over 60%.

After completing ten qualifying matches at the world championship, the Tainan team emerged from a field of 256 teams and advanced to the finals as part of an alliance with a team from Michigan.

Although they did not win the championship title, the team's performance earned them the Judges Award, an honor that is not given every year and is typically awarded to just one team. To earn this award, a team must gain unanimous approval from all judges for its values, teamwork, creativity, innovation, and engineering design, Yang said.

In recognition of their achievement, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) sent congratulatory messages to the team. The students expressed their desire to continue competing on the global robotics stage to bring further pride to the country.