Five Virgin Islands students are on their way to South Korea this week to compete in the 2026 FIRST Global Challenge, an Olympics-style robotics event drawing nearly 190 national teams to Incheon.
The squad consists of Christopher Robinson, Nicholas Joseph, Stephon Jainauth, Caleb Stoutt and Ricardo Seebaran. They left the territory on Friday, 2 October, and will face off against peers from around the world between 7 and 10 October.
This is the fourth straight year the British Virgin Islands has fielded a team at the competition. The territory's trajectory has been striking: a 143rd-place finish out of 191 teams in Singapore in 2023 improved to 111th out of 180 in Athens the following year, then jumped to 42nd globally and top spot among participating Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States nations when Panama hosted in 2025.
This year's challenge carries the theme "Igniting Innovation" and centres on wildfire prevention, mitigation and recovery. Competitors must design and programme robots to work through a simulated setting while developing technological responses to wildfire threats, community protection and environmental strengthening.
The Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports credited three corporate partners: Harneys, Exness and NAGICO. These organisations have helped fund the programme and given students access to international competition and hands-on learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Before leaving, the five competitors visited their sponsors' offices to show off their robot and express their gratitude. The Ministry extended its wishes to the team and urged the community to follow their progress in South Korea.
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