Chinese students win global robotics runner-up title in South Korea

A team of Chinese high school students won the world runner-up title and a gold award for engineering documentation at the 10th FIRST Global Challenge, an international robotics competition held in Incheon, South Korea, from Oct 7 to 10.

Representing China, the 15-member team brought together students from Beijing National Day School, Beijing Navigation School, the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China and Beijing Bayi School. They competed against peers from 185 countries and regions at this year's event, themed "Igniting Innovation", which focused on wildfire prevention, control and recovery.

Participants designed and programmed robots using standardized parts and materials. Orange foam balls scattered across the playing field represented wildfires. Robots had to collect the balls and deliver them to designated suppression devices, simulating efforts to containing the spread of fire.

The Chinese team had to balance multiple functions, including collecting, storing, transporting and launching balls, as well as climbing, within strict limits on weight, dimensions, motor count and space. The students refined their designs through repeated testing, adjusting mechanisms based on performance data to improve speed, stability and launching consistency.

The team won the silver medal in the FIRST Global Grand Challenge Award, placing second overall, and the gold medal in the Katherine Johnson Award for Engineering Documentation, which recognized its systematic records of design calculations, testing and improvements.

Beyond the competition, the students continued their "Team China Can Help" initiative, providing technical support to teams with fewer resources. Before the event, they offered online advice to Sudan's team, which had struggled to obtain materials. Once in Incheon, the Chinese students helped their Sudanese peers test and repair their robot, enabling them to complete the competition.

Chen Xiyan, a member of the Chinese team, said the experience deepened his understanding of cooperation as students from different countries exchanged ideas despite language and cultural differences.

Yan Haiwei, the team's mentor, said he was proud of the students' sense of responsibility and willingness to help others. Engineering education, he added, should teach young people not only to build robots but also to solve real-world problems and collaborate across cultures.