30 September 2026: The University of Canberra recently hosted the largest ever RoboCup Junior Australia (RCJA) Regional event in the ACT, with 450 school students competing to code a winner – revealing a robust robotics scene and keen interest in the field in the national capital and surrounds.
RCJA has been running for over 25 years, with the goal of getting more students interested in robotics and STEM learning; with representation in every state and territory in Australia, the national competition engages students from primary school right through to upper secondary.
Spread across 134 teams – 91 from local public schools – the participants turned the University’s Refectory into a testing ground for robotics, coding and problem-solving as they spent a weekend competing in Rescue Line, Rescue Maze, Soccer and OnStage challenges.
“We’ve never seen such numbers before, and it’s really exciting to see this much growth in the ACT’s robotics scene,” said Graham Stock, RCJA Vice President and ACT State Chair.
He believes that RoboCup has become so popular because it fills a learning gap.
“What students and teachers get at RoboCup is what they can’t get in the classroom – while RoboCup is tied to the Australian curriculum, it equips kids with a lot of critical thinking and problem-solving skills that they just don't get the chance to explore day to day,” he said.
“It also helps them build resilience – importantly, RoboCup gives students the time, breathing room and opportunity to succeed – but also, to fail, learn from their mistakes and try and improve.”
The robotics competition is renowned for many reasons – including being a true labour of love, powered by a host of volunteers (over 50 this year, also the biggest the competition has seen so far). RoboCup is also known for its accessibility, with entry fees kept low to ensure everyone can take part – aligning with the University of Canberra’s open door, equity-driven ethos, where education should be accessible to anyone with the drive to learn.
The University became RCJA’s main sponsor in 2025 – and Dan Heap, RCJA Vice Chair and Assistant Director, Academy of Future Skills with the ACT Government’s Education Directorate, credits the partnership with helping RoboCup to grow in ways that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible.
“This partnership has provided wrap-around support from start to finish, from being able to utilise the Refectory space – which has allowed us to expand our capacity and boost numbers – to the ongoing support from CRL and UC ROBO, the student-led robotics club, in mentoring and volunteering on competition days, and even the sponsorship of prizes,” Mr Heap said.
Aged between 10 and 12, competitors Elva Benites, Thomas Sheehan and Joshua Borgelt – who competed in the Line Rescue category – and Violet Kaylock, an Onstage competitor, said that they enjoyed RoboCup immensely. All four were from Monash School; this year was Monash’s second foray into RoboCup, with 13 teams competing.
“I really like science and robotics, and enjoyed working in a team – and learning from watching my robot both fail and succeed,” said Joshua.
Elva and Thomas echoed the sentiment on teamwork and collaboration, with Elvira saying that getting to learn coding was a big draw for her to join the competition.
“It’s the second year I’m competing in RoboCup, which makes for a smoother experience this time around,” she said.
Violet enjoyed the combination of performance and robotics in the Onstage category, which allowed her to combine diverse interests.
“This is my school’s first year of competing in the Onstage category, in which we code the robots to perform with us,” she said. “Last year, there were 19 kids from Monash who participated in RoboCup … this year there are 45 – which means I get to know lots more people through the competition.”
Community is a big draw at competitions like RoboCup.
Dr Maryam Ghahramani is a Senior Lecturer with the University’s School of Information Technology and Systems, and a member of the Collaborative Robotics Lab (CRL), under the Faculty of Science and Technology. She says that initiatives like RoboCup help to build strong, ethical communities of roboticists and enable students to explore their futures in a fast-growing sector.
“At the CRL, we’re passionate about robotics, and not just from a tech point of view – we’re interested in how working with robots leads to insights about our own humanity, and better human-robot interactions,” she said.
“That’s also the foundation on which we’ve built our Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Intelligent Robotics, and why it is truly one-of-a-kind – combining Artificial Intelligence [AI] and robotics, we cover everything from mechatronics to intelligent systems, cognitive systems and human-robot interactions.”
Mr Heap says that RCJA organisers have an ambitious vision for the competition, and for what it can achieve.
“I think there's a real appetite for opportunities to engage in STEM learning and activities outside of what's happening in the classroom and our big vision is for RoboCup to be seen as the equivalent of an athletics or cross-country carnival,” said MrHeap.
This week, the RCJA Australian Open National Championships will be held from Friday 2 October to Sunday 4 October, at Shirley Smith High School in Kenny. This is the second year in a row that the nationals will be held in the ACT, a return to the capital after 13 years.
RoboCup Junior Australia (RCJA) Regional 2026 winners
- University of Canberra Outstanding Teacher Award – Tracey Hanson, Monash School
- Novice OnStage
- 1st Place – The Wiggles (St Michaels)
- 2nd Place –The Gold Getters (Independent)
- 3rd Place – The Caffeine Catastrophe (Frensham Junior School – Gib Gate)
- Open Onstage
- 1st Place – My Favourite Team (Duffy Primary School)
- Onstage CEA Technologies Innovation Award - St Joseph’s Wallabies (St Josephs)
- Might Maisy Rescue Maze 1st Place and CEA Technologies Innovation Award – The Chill Guys (Independent)
- Intermediate Rescue Maze 1st Place – The Lebrons (Independent)
- Open Rescue Maze 1st Place – Potato Chutney (Independent)
- Standard Soccer
- 1st Place – Spiderbots (Independent)
- 2nd Place – Team Sytar (Independent)
- 3rd Place – Team Strawberry (Independent)
- Lightweight Soccer 1st Place – Team B.A.I.R (St Francis Xavier College)
- Soccer CEA Technologies Innovation Award – Tech Queens (Trinity Christian School)
- Riley Rover Rescue Line
- 1st Place – Bones (St Patricks)
- 2nd Place – Mini Robots (St Michaels)
- 3rd Place – Mischief Makers (St Michaels)
- Primary Rescue Line
- 1st Place – Flo Ad Len Even (Duffy Primary School)
- 2nd Place – Campbell 1 (Campbell Primary School)
- 3rd Place – Chapman Dumplings (Chapman Primary School)
- Secondary Rescue Line
- 1st Place – Teal Turtle (Alfred Deakin High School)
- 2nd Place – Christmas Island (Harrison School)
- 3rd Place – Skibidi (Harrison School)
- Rescue Line CEA Technologies Innovation Award - Pink Panthers (Alfred Deakin High School)
