HOW CAN WE CHANGE THE WORLD? ONE CHILD, ONE ROBOT KIT, AND ONE NATION AT A TIME.
Changing lives starts with changing minds. The first step to inspiring a changemaker is letting them see the potential they have to make change. Beyond the robot kit and competition field, we equip students with a variety of skills, not only empowering each of them to reach their full potential, but to also extend that impact to others and be part of the generation that will change the world. Hand in hand, we can forge a stronger, more unified world that works better together.
198 NATIONS
reached since 2017.
1,290+ ROBOT KITS
distributed since 2017.
1,000+ MENTORS
involved since 2017.
3,000+ VOLUNTEERS
involved since 2017.
47 FEMALE-MAJORITY
or all-girl teams in 2023.
38% FEMALE
participation in 2023.
78% FIRST-TIME
participants in 2023.
17% NO EXPERIENCE
with technology and robotics prior to participating in 2022.
95% MORE INTERESTED
in pursuing a career that uses science or tech after participating in 2022.
93% MORE PREPARED
in attending university after participating in 2022.
96% GAINED
important technical skills through their participation in 2022.
93% INSPIRED
to volunteer in their community.
198 NATIONS
reached since 2017.
1,290+ ROBOT KITS
distributed since 2017.
1,000+ MENTORS
involved since 2017.
3,000+ VOLUNTEERS
involved since 2017.
47 FEMALE-MAJORITY
or all-girl teams in 2023.
16% NO EXPERIENCE
with technology and robotics prior to participating in 2023.
78% FIRST-TIME
participants in 2023.
38% FEMALE
participation in 2023.
95% MORE INTERESTED
in pursuing a career that uses science or tech after participating in 2022.
93% MORE INTERESTED
in attending university after participating in 2022.
96% GAINED
important technical skills.
93% INSPIRED
to volunteer in their community.
“The FIRST Global Challenge changed me into a completely different person, someone who is confident in their abilities and can easily integrate into their society.”
–Mohamed, Team Tunisia 2021
“The FIRST Global Challenge has been nothing short of a life-changing experience for me.”
–Ronav, Team India 2020
“FIRST Global is necessary to prove to young people that STEM is not a boring area, but a path to the future. FIRST Global has impacted me to the point I could say I’m a different person now, a better version.”
–Carlota, Team Venezuela 2019
“We started as 10 high school students but we finished as confident and collaborative individuals that made a change in our country, showing what can be achieved in just 3 months. Thank you for this challenge!”
–Brianna, Team Romania 2021
“To me, FIRST Global means more than just a STEM challenge, it means an opportunity. Not only an opportunity to learn more about STEM and robotics, but an opportunity to develop and prepare myself for the future.”
–Ruth, Team Nigeria 2020
“The kindness and the way the teams communicated showed us that the key to this event is not how we are pitted against each other, but how much we are here for each other.”
–Team North Macedonia 2019
TEAM ARCHIVES
Click on the map or select a team from the dropdown to view links to all of their profile pages.
“We’re not using kids to build robots. We’re using robots to build kids who have self-confidence, skill sets, imagination, courage, and vision to do important things.”
—Dean Kamen, FIRST Global Founder
IMPACT REPORTS
2023 FIRST Global Challenge
2022 FIRST Global Challenge
2021 FIRST Global Challenge
2020 FIRST Global Challenge
2019 FIRST Global Challenge
2018 FIRST Global Challenge
STORIES
FIRST Global Team Palestine spent a season proactively making friends all across the world.
Team Haiti’s journey to the 2023 FIRST Global Challenge in Singapore was filled with twists and turns—and hope.
Seeds planted by FIRST Global in the hearts of students are blossoming into leaders who are entrepreneurs, advocates, and mentors just six years after the inaugural FIRST Global Challenge. Here is the story of Keeghan.
Seeds planted by FIRST Global in the hearts of students are blossoming into leaders who are entrepreneurs, advocates, and mentors just six years after the inaugural FIRST Global Challenge. Here is the story of Emanuel from Venezuela.
In recognition of our shared support of women’s representation in STEM, FIRST Global partnered with the Temasek Corporation to launch the Temasek Women in STEM Award as part of the 2023 FIRST Global Challenge in Singapore. Through this award, leaders from the Temasek Corporation recognized…
In a world where technology is rapidly advancing, it is imperative that young people are equipped with the necessary skills to succeed in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields. This is the mission of FIRST Global, a nonprofit that aims to inspire the next…
In India, more than six million kids drop out of school every year. Out of every 100, 29 don’t even get the opportunity to complete elementary education. By providing these kids with opportunities to realize their potential, we are able to change this. Team India…
A seed was planted in the mind of Nurdaulet Dosmagambet as he listened to Dean Kamen’s speech at the inaugural 2017 FIRST Global Challenge in Washington, DC. He was inspired by Dean’s words to go back to his country of Kazakhstan and take on the…
For more than 10 years, FIRST Global’s partner in Argentina, Educabot, has been forming a new generation of Argentineans capable of using technology in the search for creative solutions to real problems. But it was Team Argentina’s participation in the FIRST Global Challenge that inspired…
In the Intibucá region of the Honduran mountains, quality education can be difficult to come by. More than half the population of Honduras lives below the poverty line, the net enrollment rate in secondary school was only 43 percent in 2020¹, and there’s a lack…
FIRST Global Team Afghanistan has continued to inspire ever since their debut in 2017 when they were initially twice denied, and then later granted, visas to attend the FIRST Global Challenge in Washington, DC. Although the students on the team have changed over the years,…
These teenagers orchestrated every aspect of their mission, including building, coding, launching, recovering, and analyzing data. And they did it on their own! [Team Cambodia cheers as their CubeSat prototype takes flight] You can hear the cheers as teams of kids from around the world…
For Team Madagascar, the 2020 FIRST Global Challenge was a chance for the students to broaden their horizons. They spoke about their dreams, highlighted their talents, built a paper airplane launcher, created a homemade water filtration system, constructed part of a global machine, and more….
Each year, many teams face obstacles to their participation in the FIRST Global Challenge. But civil conflict and unrest? This is the challenge that Team Ethiopia faced in 2020. The FIRST Global partner in Ethiopia was excited to assemble students for the 2020 FIRST Global…
Sometimes the greatest sources of inspiration come about through the unlikeliest of places. This is one such story, brought to the world by a handful of teenagers determined to let their light shine. Although the lives of refugees are commonly shaped by difficulty, the true…
FIRST Global is a testament to the power of STEM in transforming lives. STEM education can lift people up, providing opportunities for them to realize their full potential regardless of age, perceived ability, gender, socio-economic status, or country of origin. Abdelrahman’s story is one such…
Tristan is a young man passionate about robotics. He also happens to have autism. For Tristan, autism isn’t something that holds him back. Instead, it’s an opportunity to be uniquely himself while making a difference in his own way. And that’s a message he wants…
Before joining the FIRST Global Guinea-Bissau team, José would normally go to the Port of Bandim, the biggest fishing port in the country, to buy fish with his family. However, after joining the team and learning about the year’s Ocean Opportunities theme, he was inspired…
For Team Bahrain, attending the FIRST Global Challenge wasn’t even on their radar until just four days prior to the event, leaving them with no time to build a robot. The team made the trek to Dubai and proceeded to open a FIRST Global robotics…
When students Barbara and Mikhaeel returned to South Africa after their participation in the 2017 FIRST Global Challenge, they knew that their journey had only just begun. They saw that a lot of youth in South Africa didn’t have access to robotics, and wanted to…
Nabil Dabouz is a busy man. He’s a former FIRST Global participant, a software engineering student at the Polytechnic Montréal, and a volunteer with the FIRST LEGO® League in Canada. However, during the summer of 2018, he took on one more role – that of…
In early 2017, FIRST Global partnered with an organization called Shoulder to Shoulder, a nonprofit supporting health and education initiatives in Honduras, to send a team of Honduran youth to participate in the inaugural FIRST Global Challenge. “We’re introducing something down here that’s pretty novel,” said…
Rachael’s journey began when she started studying to be a software engineer. Out of a class of 43, she was one of just three women. It was then that she decided to make it her mission to engage more girls in technology fields. Rachael started…
The all-girl Afghan robotics team — the Afghan Dreamers — made headlines in the summer of 2017 for being denied, then eventually waived, visas to attend the 2017 FIRST Global Challenge in Washington, D.C. This wasn’t the first challenge they had faced. Some girls’ families…
As the programmer for his robotics team, Nathan is responsible for making sure the robot’s code is top-notch. Looking at the enthusiasm and excellence he brings to his work, it may be surprising to hear that Nathan hasn’t always been recognized as the smart and…
Team Iran signed on to compete in the 2017 FIRST Global Challenge. The only problem? They couldn’t get a robot kit due to sanctions. Team Iran instead paired up with a robotics team from a Virgina high school who worked with them to build the…
“I can build a robot, you can build a robot; together, we can build a robot. Robotics is not just for boys, but for girls, boys, and everyone.” Meet Larissa, the only female member of Team Cameroon 2017. Larissa gets up at 3 a.m. to…
Team Liberia faced many challenges on their way to participating in the 2017 FIRST Global Challenge. Yet despite a lack of electricity, an abundance of flooding, and no previous experience with robotics, they pushed forward.
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