The Fourth Robot Explorer Cup: A Showcase of Innovation and Community Engagement

Hosted by the HKUST School of Engineering, the Fourth Robot Explorer Cup took place on 9-10 July 2025, bringing together 116 students from 17 primary and secondary schools to spark innovation and collaboration. The months-long program concluded with an award presentation ceremony on November 8, 2025 at the Chiang Chen Lecture Theater (LT-J) at HKUST, where the winners were officially announced.

Supported by Bank of China (Hong Kong) and organized by the Center for Global and Community Engagement under the HKUST School of Engineering, the event provided an exciting platform for students to apply programming and mechanical knowledge in real-world scenarios. In the months leading up to the competition, students collaborated closely with their teachers to tackle the challenges ahead. The program also created meaningful educational and leadership opportunities for HKUST students, who played a pivotal role in its success. A dedicated team of 20 undergraduates from diverse disciplines took on responsibilities such as designing game challenges, building demo robots and competition fields, leading teacher training and boot camp sessions, and serving as judges during the event.

This year’s theme, “Polar Rescue”, brought attention to the urgent impact of climate change on wildlife. As penguin habitats continue to deteriorate, these vulnerable creatures are confronted with the threats of hunger and homelessness. Each participating school team designed and programmed their robots to gather food and build shelters, showcasing their creativity and problem-solving skills in addressing these critical challenges. The competition not only highlighted the ingenuity of young minds but also emphasized the importance of environmental stewardship.

 

The program concluded with an award presentation ceremony on November 8, 2025, at LT-J at HKUST. During the event, winners of the two game categories: The Pioneer and The Front-runner, were honored alongside recipients of the Best Engineering Award and Best Team Spirit Award, recognizing the outstanding creativity, technical skills, and collaborative spirit demonstrated by all participating teams.

(From left to right) Prof. Henry Lam, Associate Dean of Engineering (Undergraduate Studies), HKUST; Prof. Tim Woo, Director of Center for Global & Community Engagement, School of Engineering, HKUST; Mr. Kevin Ng, Deputy General Manager of Information Technology Department, BOCHK; and Prof. Dan Tsang, Executive Director for Undergraduate Recruitment and Student Development, School of Engineering, HKUST, attended the award presentation ceremony.

List of winners:

The Pioneer category

The Front-runner category

Annex: Full list of winners