Junior
(primary schools)

Senior
(high schools)

Advanced
(tertiary institutions)

Robotics for Good youth challenge is the leading UN-based educational robotics championship, inspired each year by a global challenge where robots provide innovative, practical solutions to real-world problems.

The 2025/2026 Robotics for Good Challenge focuses on Food security

As agriculture faces increasing pressure from resource constraints and a growing global population, food systems must adapt to meet ever-higher demand while maintaining productivity and economic viability. It is essential to optimize the use of available land and water, improve efficiency, and ensure equitable access to agricultural products. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), “agriculture must meet the needs of present and future generations for its products and services, while ensuring profitability and social and economic equity” (FAO, 2014)

In the face of these challenges, technology has become a key ally in transforming agricultural practices. For example, precision-agriculture technologies such as GPS-guided machinery have revolutionized sowing and harvesting, allowing farmers to maximize yields and reduce waste. Drone technology is also widely used to monitor crop health and optimize irrigation systems, demonstrating the practical impact of technological advances on agriculture. Breakthroughs in robotics and artificial intelligence offer innovative solutions to optimize resource use, increase efficiency, and protect biodiversity. Agricultural robots have the potential to perform critical tasks such as crop selection, irrigation, pest control, and harvesting, minimizing waste and maximizing precision.

In this context, the Robotics for Good Youth Challenge 2025-2026, curated by make+learn, focuses on tackling these critical issues through robotics applied to agriculture. The competition challenges participating teams to design, build, and program robots capable of solving real-world problems in the agricultural sector, fostering technological innovation worldwide.

In this year’s challenge, the mission is divided into two main actions inspired by real agricultural processes: selective cultivation and irrigation, and fruit harvesting and sorting. The game field is designed to simulate these processes and test the robots’ ability to operate autonomously within a limited time.

Each match lasts 2 minutes, during which the robots must operate autonomously, with no human intervention once the round begins.

The competition promotes the use of open-source software and hardware, allowing participants full freedom in assembling and programming their robots. Its mission is to democratize access to robotics and AI education, helping to bridge the digital skills gap. The challenge also encourages the use of recycled materials and the development of environmentally friendly technologies, emphasizing the importance of building sustainable robots.

About the Robotics for Good Youth Challenge

Robotics for Good Youth Challenge is an UN-based educational robotics championship that each year is inspired on a global challenge in relation to which robots offer practical solutions to advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Participants design, build and program a robot that completes a mission based on one of these goals. While learning robotics and coding, students gain more than just technical know-how, but also vital working-life and future skills, including but not limited to teamwork, problem-solving, project management, critical thinking, and information retrieval.

The competition fosters free-software and hardware robotics, allowing unrestricted assembly and programming of the robots. It aims to promote inclusivity, enabling learning in robotics and coding regardless of gender, socio-economic status, or academic ability. Additionally, it encourages the use of recycled materials and environmentally friendly solutions, emphasizing the development of sustainable robots.

Why Participate?

• National Championship: Compete at the Uganda National Championship and showcase your ideas to a panel of judges from the fields of robotics, AI, and technology.
• Global Finals: Winning teams will earn the opportunity to represent Uganda at the global finals in Geneva during the AI for Good Summit, where the world's top minds in AI and robotics gather to shape a better future.
• Inspire Change: Use your creativity and technical skills to develop solutions that can have a real, measurable impact on communities and the environment.

Who Can Participate?

• Junior category: Teams of young innovators aged 8-13.
• Senior category: Teams of young innovators aged 12-18.
• Advanced category: Teams of young innovators aged 19-25.

NOTE: Participants must be passionate about robotics, AI, and creating solutions that can contribute to achieving the SDGs.

Key Dates:

• Press release: 18/10/2025
• School training workshops: 6/10/2025 to 13/02/2026
• Regional mini competitions: 17/11/2025 to 12/12/2025
• Uganda National Championship: 20/02/2026
• Global finals at AI for Good Summit, Geneva: 7-8/07/2026

Program Schedule

Venue: Makerere University, Yusuf Lule Central Teaching Facility (Auditorium)

Date: Friday, 20th February 2026

Duration: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Peak Primary School - Ntinda & Our Lady of Africa SS shine

In an intense competition filled with creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving, Our Lady of Africa SS (Senior Category) and Peak Primary School (Junior Category) emerged as the national champions of 2024/2025 edition!

The Robotics for Good Youth Challenge is more than a competition; it is a platform that empowers young people aged 8 to 18 to become innovators and changemakers through hands-on experience with Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and STEM education. Through this program, students gain the confidence and skills needed to tackle real-world challenges — driving sustainable solutions for their communities and beyond.

The national finalists showcased inspiring ideas ranging from early-warning disaster systems, AI-powered emergency response, to sustainable robotics for post-disaster recovery. Their dedication is proof that when young minds are equipped with the right tools, mentorship, and learning spaces, they can innovate for impact.

Gallery - National Championship 2024/2025 edition

Gallery - School Workshops 2024/2025 edition

Gallery -Teacher/mentors Workshops 2024/2025 edition

“Innovation is the passport to the future, for tomorrow looks like what we define today.” “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” “The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn …and change.”