Ingenium Lions team take 3rd at VEX Robotics competition

Wellington’s Ingenium Lions robotics team showcased their determination, ingenuity, creativity, collaboration and teamwork, honing their engineering, programming and design skills in the process. Their efforts paid off, with one sub-team clinching third place and the prestigious design award, while another team won the excellence award. Two additional Wellington teams were recognised for their resilience and consistency throughout the competition.

"Robotics provides numerous opportunities for cross-curricular integration with other subjects like mathematics, physics, environmental science, art and design technology," said Tobias Oyugi, our Head of Computer Science and the competition’s organiser. "At Wellington, we've mainstreamed robotics into the curriculum, and in two years every pupil will have the opportunity to experience a robotics lesson."

Year 13 pupil Ray, a VEX Robotics mentor, emphasised the importance of teamwork. "Without teamwork, builds take a very long time and it becomes very hard to communicate with each other," he said. "A successful robotics team should have the qualities of teamwork because it is so important in building a robot."

Ray's mentoring sessions with younger pupils typically take place a week or two before competitions. "We look online for resources and see how other teams are building, then try to incorporate those ideas into our own robots," he explained. "The biggest setbacks we face are when teamwork and communication break down during the stress of competitions. That's when a mentor can step in to guide and help lower the stress levels."

Participating in VEX Robotics has also helped Ray develop crucial leadership skills. "Being a leader doesn't mean just telling people what to do," he said. "You have to empathise, communicate and work on continuous improvement with your teammates."

Fellow year 11 pupil Tanvi, who is in her second year of VEX, echoed Ray's sentiments about the importance of teamwork and communication. "The key challenges were time management, especially with so many competitions," she said. "We had to stay late at school to find the time to finish our robot."

Tanvi has seen her engineering and physics knowledge blossom through her VEX Robotics experience. "It's really interesting to see how what I've learned in physics can apply to robotics as well," she said. "And it's great to see how classroom learning can be used in real life."

For year 11 pupils Giovanni, Alex and Ray, VEX Robotics has been a long-running passion. "I started doing VEX IQ and made it to the world finals in my first year," said Giovanni. "After that, I became ineligible for IQ, so I started doing VRC and helped establish the robotics programme at Wellington."

Our VEX Robotics teams have set a high bar with their impressive achievements this year. The programme's success highlights the immense value of hands-on, cross-curricular learning opportunities that robotics provides. Indeed, the future looks bright for our pupils as they build up the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century.