INFORMATIONS
Join the most advanced robotics competition for students and learn how to assemble and program robots. The first phase is based on virtual robots and takes place entirely online. The second phase involves building physical robots and follows a hybrid format. The main national sponsor Banca Comercială Română (BCR) is offering over 300 robot kits free of charge and is also funding lessons and ROBOhelp support sessions. Starting in 2023, students may also participate in Phase II using the kits distributed to schools through the EDULIB project – the Virtual School Library – which includes nearly all middle schools in Romania.
Students and teachers can benefit from free robots and free robotics lessons through the ROMANIA TECH NATION program. Alongside these resources we also offer the opportunity to take part in the NEXTLAB.TECH competition the largest school robotics contest open to students aged 8 to 16.
By participating, students prepare for the jobs of the future and learn to program robots based on the NEXTLAB.TECH A1 microcontroller board or Arduino. They also gain experience working with platforms such as Open Roberta, Tinkercad, Mixly, Arduino IDE, Python, and C. All students benefit from free robotics courses delivered by university professors in computer science through webinars.
The competition is listed in the official calendar of funded extracurricular activities approved by the Romanian Ministry of Education. (see here)
Scroll down for more information on the timeline and registration.
UPDATES & NEWS
Introducing the “Financial Intelligence” Scoring Criterion
Starting with this year’s edition, our competition is introducing an important new change!
Our main sponsor BCR is adding a new scoring criterion: Financial Intelligence. This will be applied across all stages of the competition and is designed to encourage participants to develop critical thinking and resource management skills.
Through this new element, we aim to bring additional value to the competition and help prepare students for real-life challenges they will face in their future careers. Details about how this criterion will be implemented will be shared in the “Announcements” section.
The NEXTLAB.TECH RoboCaravan Is Coming to BCR’s ZBOR Innovation Hubs!
This year in partnership with BCR we’re bringing technology even closer to you through the NEXTLAB.TECH RoboCaravan!
We’ll be visiting the ZBOR innovation hubs opened by BCR in several cities across the country, where we’ll host interactive presentation sessions for students passionate about robotics and technology.
Participants will have the chance to explore the world of robots, learn essential programming and artificial intelligence concepts, and discover how to take their first steps into the world of tech. These events are designed to inspire and motivate the next generation of innovators!
Interested teachers are kindly asked to fill out the form below.
NEXTLAB.TECH ROBOTS
MIRO KIT
Robot for the Line-Follower Basic & Maze Challenges
TECNICUS KIT
Robot for the Line-Follower Advanced Challenge
ENSPIRO KIT
Robot for the Creative Robotics Challenge
REGISTRATION
The NEXTLAB.TECH Robotics Competition is open to all students aged 8 to 16 from schools around the world. Participation is completely free of charge. Advancement from Phase I to Phase II is based on the results of an online test.
The educational approach is transdisciplinary. Teachers of computer science, mathematics, physics, technology, as well as primary school teachers and others, are all welcome to get involved.
Sponsors will provide free robotics kits to qualified students, within the limits of available resources. Students who qualify but are unable to receive a free kit and still wish to participate in the finals have the option to purchase a kit themselves. Please also refer to the general methodology for organizing school competitions as outlined in Order 3035/2012.
STUDENTS
This section is intended for contest participants. To register for the current edition of the competition, each student must have an account on the educational platform robo.nextlab.tech. Registration can be completed using the button below or directly through the platform.
TEACHERS
This section is intended for teachers. A teacher account provides additional features such as: linking with student accounts, creating communities, organizing events and lessons, and monitoring the activity of associated students. Registration can be completed using the button below or directly through the competition’s educational platform: robo.nextlab.tech
CALENDAR
- March 28, 2025 – May 15, 2025 → Participant registration on the contest platform: robo.nextlab.tech
- May 15, 2025 – May 30, 2025 → Online qualification test for Phase II (robo-evaluation + video pitch)
- June 15, 2025 → Afișarea listelor cu elevii calificați în faza II, partea 1 a concursului
- June 15, 2025 – June 30, 2025 → Shipping period for free robotics kits to students qualified for Phase II
- June 10, 2025 – July 31, 2025 → Weekly free ROBOhelp sessions for contest participants
- July 15, 2025 → Deadline for uploading video pitches with the robots built for Phase II – Part 1
- July 28, 2025 → Announcement of the list of students qualified for Phase II – Part 2 of the contest
- August 30, 2025 → Final round – Phase II Part 2, held in person in Bucharest, Romania
Phase I
Registered students will go through free learning paths focused on visual programming or coding, using various online platforms available in the lesson library on the educational platform robo.nextlab.tech. All educational content will be delivered through the robo.nextlab.tech platform. Teachers can monitor the activity of their associated students directly through the platform.
At the end of Phase I, students will take an individual online test. A total of 1,200 students will qualify for Phase II. Based on the test results, as well as social and geographic criteria, the organizers will select students who will receive physical robot kits based on the NEXTLAB.TECH A1 and Arduino programming boards (MIRO, TECNICUS, ENSPIRO, or GREEN), offered by the main national sponsor, Banca Comercială Română (BCR). Since 2023, students who qualify for Phase II are also allowed to use EDULIB kits, which were distributed free of charge to almost all middle schools in Romania. Additional sponsors may provide more kits, and each sponsor may set their own criteria for how kits are awarded. Students will also need to demonstrate digital storytelling skills, using elements such as graphics, sound, detailed presentations, reasoning, opening and closing pitch formats, animations, and more. The artistic impression of the video pitch is an important evaluation factor. Students who do not receive a sponsored kit may still participate in the competition by purchasing a kit from shop.nextlab.tech using personal resources.
Phase II
Students who qualify for Phase II, together with their teachers, will follow a second series of lessons focused on assembling and programming the robots they received. Phase II is divided into two parts: an online component and an in-person (physical) component. Free online support sessions (ROBOhelp) will be provided to assist students throughout this phase. The qualification criteria for Part II of Phase II are available in the official competition rules. All educational content will be delivered through the robo.nextlab.tech platform. All students qualified for Phase II who successfully assemble and operate a NEXTLAB.TECH robot (MIRO, TECNICUS, ENSPIRO, or GREEN) are eligible to participate in the competition challenges of Phase II – Part 1.
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