Robotex winners earn place at global finals

Thousands of visitors attended Robotex Cyprus 2026, the country’s largest robotics festival, held at the University of Cyprus Sports Centre on June 27-28, 2026, bringing together hundreds of competitors and showcasing the latest developments in robotics, artificial intelligence, drones and STEAM education.

The ninth Robotex Cyprus Educational and Sports Robotics Competition attracted 700 participants, including school pupils, university students and adults from across Cyprus, who competed in more than 20 different robotics challenges, demonstrating their technical knowledge, creativity and engineering skills.

The event featured a message from Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Nicodemos Damianou, delivered on his behalf by the ministry’s Director of Cybersecurity Marios Tziapouras.

Among those attending were Research and Innovation Foundation vice-president Andreas Efstathiou, whose organisation supports Robotex Cyprus as its Diamond Sponsor, recognising the festival’s contribution to developing research and innovation skills among young people.

Opening remarks were also delivered by University of Cyprus Department of Computer Science chairman Chrysis Georgiou and Robotex Cyprus Scientific Committee member and IET Cyprus board member Fotini Georgiou, representing the event’s co-organisers.

The festival also welcomed Robotex International chief executive Nathan Metsala, whose visit carried particular significance because Cyprus was the first country to establish Robotex as a national competition.

Metsala also announced that Robotex International 2026 will be staged in South Korea, marking the first time the international competition will be held outside Estonia.

The winning teams from Cyprus secured the right to represent the country at the international finals, continuing a strong tradition of Cypriot teams achieving notable distinctions in recent years.

Primary school teams presented robotics projects based on the theme “Sustainable Development, Green Island”, with many using artificial intelligence applications to propose innovative solutions to environmental challenges.

Saturday’s competition programme featured events including Line Following, Folkrace, Maze Solving, Bowling and Archery, while two drone competitions were also held, one focused on autonomous flight and another introducing a new programming challenge.

On Sunday, competitors took part in SUMO robot battles, raced along a 15-metre Rally track and competed in a robotic shot put challenge.

The programme also included the annual Girls Firefighting competition, designed exclusively for girls to encourage greater female participation in STEAM disciplines.

Visitors also enjoyed a number of interactive technology activities throughout the weekend.

On Saturday, attendees were able to experience Drone Soccer for the first time on a specially designed pitch operated by STEAM Cyprus.

Sunday’s programme featured the popular Human versus Robot chess challenge, organised in cooperation with the KAISSA Chess Club, where the SenseRobot competed against both young and experienced chess players.

Another new addition this year was the participation of the Planetarium team, which presented interactive activities focusing on space, exploration of the universe and artificial intelligence applications.

Throughout the two-day festival, Robo.com.cy operated the technical Pit Stop support station for competing teams while also showcasing Kypruino and RoboRover Core, two innovative products developed in Cyprus.

Visitors also experienced virtual reality, 3D printing and other STEAM activities presented by the Research and Innovation Foundation, ECECT, Novatex and the European INVESTech project.

At the same time, JOEY by the Bank of Cyprus distributed gifts and surprises to visitors, while Neapolis University’s robotic dog Laika returned to the event and performances by the Elena Clark Dance School provided artistic entertainment.

Robotex Cyprus was organised by the Cyprus Computer Society in cooperation with the University of Cyprus, the Cyprus Youth Organisation and IET Cyprus.

The event was held under the auspices of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy and received approval from the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth and ETEK.

The Research and Innovation Foundation served as Diamond Sponsor, while the Bank of Cyprus continued its support as Youth Supporter and XM as Tech Partner.

Neapolis University was the Gold Sponsor, while Novatex Solutions, ZEBRA Consultants, NETinfo and ICDL participated as Bronze Sponsors, with Robo.com.cy serving as the event’s prize sponsor.

The organisers also said that secondary school students remain eligible for scholarships through the long-standing support of the private higher education institutions Neapolis, EUC, UNIC, Frederick, UCLan, UoL and AUB Mediterraneo.

The event was also supported by dozens of volunteers, while the next milestone for this year’s winners will be the Robotex Cyprus Awards Ceremony, scheduled to take place in October.