Cyprus’ largest educational robotics event, Robotex MRC 2025, concluded with great success over the weekend of June 28 and 29, transforming the University of Cyprus Sports Centre into a showcase of creativity, STEAM excellence and innovation.

The festival was officially opened on behalf of the President of the Republic by the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Nicodemos Damianou.

The chief scientist and chairman of the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) Demetris Skourides also attended, representing one of the event’s Diamond Sponsors.

He said the foundation supports the event as part of its commitment to highlighting young talents in research and innovation in Cyprus.

Welcoming remarks were delivered by Constantina Achilleos, the new Chairperson of the Youth Board of Cyprus, and Fotini Georgiou, member of IET Cyprus and the event’s Scientific Committee.

Evangelos Stivaktakis, General Manager of the Hellenic Educational Robotics Organisation (HERO), who oversees the MRC Global Olympiad, also travelled from Crete to attend the event.

Robotex MRC 2025 attracted over 600 participants from across the island, including school pupils, university teams and adult hobbyists, competing in more than 20 robotics challenges.

Primary school teams designed creative robotic constructions based on the theme Robots and the World of Water, with some addressing the issue of water scarcity in Cyprus.

Saturday’s events featured competitions in Line Following, Maze Solving, Archery, Bowling and the Folkrace.

Drones took flight on the lower floor, as public and private school teams participated in a popular aerial challenge.

Sunday’s highlights included the crowd-favourite SUMO robot battles, a 15-metre rally track, and a robotics Shot Put competition.

The programme also included a firefighting challenge exclusively for girls, aimed at inspiring more young women to enter the STEAM fields.

A unique highlight was a Human vs. Robot chess challenge, presented in collaboration with the KAISSA Chess Club.

Participants were able to play against the SenseRobot, introduced to Cyprus for the first time.

Nearby, the Oceanography Centre of the University of Cyprus and the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute hosted exhibitions linking marine science with technology.

Robo.com.cy launched the Robo Pit Stop, a dedicated area for repairs, and presented the upgraded Kypruino, an Arduino Uno board designed and manufactured in Cyprus.

Throughout the weekend, visitors engaged with STEAM activities hosted by CCS, ONEK Makerspace Larnaka, and groups including ECECT, Novatex and O3.

The event featured interactive booths such as ECOMMBX’s photobooth and mascot, as well as the Laika robot dog from Neapolis University.

A surprise dance performance by the Elena Clark Dance School closed the festival on a festive note.

Young participants also had the opportunity to showcase their work to scientists, founders and investors from Cyprus’ innovation ecosystem, including those linked to the Femme Forward Future Startup Founders EU programme and the CCS – Women team.

Robotex MRC Cyprus was organised by the Cyprus Computer Society in partnership with the University of Cyprus, the Youth Board (ONEK), and IET Cyprus.

The festival was held under the auspices of president Nikos Christodoulides and approved by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth and the Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber.

Sponsors included ECOMMBX as “Powered by” sponsor, Bank of Cyprus as “Youth Supporter”, XM as “Tech Partner”, and Neapolis University as Gold Sponsor.

The winning teams will represent Cyprus at Robotex International in Estonia and the MRC Global Olympiad in Crete.

High school students also earned scholarships from private universities including Neapolis, EUC, UNIC, Frederick, UCLan Cyprus, University of London and the new American University of Beirut.

The organisers also mentioned that over 100 volunteers and judges supported the event, which was organised and executed by the Cyprus Computer Society’s Organising and Scientific Committees.

An awards ceremony is scheduled for October.

Competition results are posted on www.robotex.org.cy, while highlights and livestreams can be viewed on the Robotex Cyprus YouTube channel.