Education

ATLAB Middle East, a subsidiary of Centena Group and the official organiser of FIRST LEGO League (FLL) UAE, has announced the winners of the 2025–26 season following a grand finale held on February 7–8, 2026 at the American School of Creative Science on Maliha Road.

The national event brought together young innovators from across the UAE to showcase skills in robotics, artificial intelligence, STEM learning, and problem-solving, with participation from 391 teams nationwide across the EXPLORE and CHALLENGE categories.

Nationwide Participation and International Qualification

According to ATLAB, the competition highlighted strong levels of creativity, teamwork, and technical innovation among student teams. Finalists were evaluated on robot design, performance, innovation projects, and core values, with judging panels drawn from universities, schools, and public and private institutions across the UAE.

Nilesh Korgaonkar, CEO of ATLAB, congratulated the finalists and said the programme continues to serve as a powerful platform for developing future-ready talent aligned with the UAE Centennial 2071 and the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031. He noted that several winning teams will go on to represent the UAE at international competitions.

Explore Category Recognises Young Talent

The FIRST LEGO League EXPLORE category recorded 202 participating teams, with 42 teams reaching the finals stage. All finalists were recognised across six award categories.

Team Robo Relics was selected to represent FLL UAE EXPLORE at the World Festival in the United States. Special recognitions included the Challenge Solution Award, Coding Award, Core Values Award, Team Poster Award, Team Model Award, and Rising Star Award.

Challenge Category Winners and Global Representation

In the more advanced FIRST LEGO League CHALLENGE category, 189 teams competed, with 38 teams advancing to the finals. A total of 19 awards were presented, and seven teams qualified for international tournaments.

1. Team ACE was crowned Champion

2. Team Metalmech was named Runner-up

Both teams will compete in the United States against participants from more than 100 countries.

Other international qualifiers include:

1. Team RoboRelix and Team Eviebots — Australia

2. Team Lithomex — Greece

3. Team Dew of the Void — Korea

4. Team Chrono Diggers — Mexico

Additional honours included:

1. Robot Design Award — Team Lithomex (winner), Team Uncharted (runner-up)

2. Robot Game Award — Team Robo Relics (winner), Team ACE (runner-up), Team Metalmech (second runner-up)

3. Innovation Project Award — Team Eviebots

4. Core Values Award — Team Dew of the Void

UNEARTHED Theme Drives Innovation

This season’s theme, “UNEARTHED”, focused on archaeology and heritage discovery, encouraging teams to explore how robotics and AI can support the discovery, study, and preservation of historical artifacts.

Student projects featured drone-based excavation mapping, ground-penetrating radar concepts, autonomous exploration rovers, and AI-powered artifact identification apps, demonstrating practical applications of emerging technologies in heritage and research contexts.

Focus on Student Growth and Collaboration

Abdallah Alsafadi, Coach of Team ACE, said the competition experience extended beyond technical achievement, helping students build confidence, communication skills, and responsibility through hands-on collaboration and experimentation.

Judging standards placed strong emphasis on Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition, reinforcing values of respect, collaboration, and shared learning alongside competitive performance.

ATLAB said the successful conclusion of the season reflects its continued commitment to strengthening the UAE’s robotics and STEM education ecosystem and nurturing the next generation of innovators.

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