Nanjing International School recently hosted the ACAMIS VEX Robotics Competition, welcoming 43 teams from nine international schools across the region. With 193 students competing and more than 66 matches played across eight hours of continuous competition, the event brought exciting energy to campus and showcased the highest levels of student engineering, coding, and teamwork. Several attending teams included national and former world champions, providing an invaluable opportunity for our students to “Burst the Bubble” and test their work against the very best.

NIS fielded eight student-led teams, representing 37 Secondary students who have spent months designing, building, programming, and refining their robots as part of our robust Design and Robotics programme. The competition environment challenged them to adapt strategies, troubleshoot issues in real time, and collaborate under pressure – core skills aligned with our mission to inspire personal excellence and creative thinking.

One NIS team advanced all the way to the semi-final elimination rounds, finishing fifth overall among the 43 teams. In addition, these students were recognised with the Innovate Award, presented to the team whose robot design introduced original, effective engineering solutions that impressed competition judges.

“I'm happy for the kids to just believe in themselves and not to get overawed by the level of competition they've got in front of them,” said Ken Brady, Secondary Design Teacher. “They've proved that they can do it. It's now just down to refining their engineering and their coding, and a lot of practise.”

As the season continues, our Robotics students will keep designing, iterating, collaborating, and leading their own learning – building confidence and skills that will go far beyond the competition arena.