King's College London

King’s will expand its pioneering robotics competition for girls and non-binary students across the UK, thanks to nearly £30,000 from the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng).

Led by Yang Gao, Professor of Robotics in the Department of Engineering, and the Outreach team in the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences (NMES), the Girls Robotics Challenge is the first robotics competition of its kind in the UK. As part of the competition, school teams design, build and programme robots to complete space exploration–themed challenges.

Girls and women are substantially under-represented in engineering in the UK. King’s Girls Robotics Competition aims to boost participants’ confidence in their STEM abilities and help them feel that they belong in engineering and technology spaces. The long-term aim is to inspire them to pursue STEM subjects in the future and help rectify the long-term gender imbalance in the engineering and tech sectors.

Following a successful first year in which five teams of eight participants took part, the RAEng funding will enable the programme to expand to 12 teams of eight participants each, bringing the total to 96 participants. Schools from across the country can also take part, with a particular focus on underserved areas beyond London.

To help schools in underserved areas beyond London take part, travel bursaries will be available to support attendance at the in-person events. The team will prioritise state-funded, non-selective, mixed gender schools with high levels of free school meals eligibility, ensuring opportunities reach students who face the greatest barriers.

The competition has received funding from the RAEng Ingenious public engagement grant scheme, which funds projects that engage the public with engineers and engineering while providing engineers with skills and opportunities in public engagement.

Girls Robotics Challenge will run across three key events, starting with a launch in November that introduces pupils to the world of engineering and robotics. In February 2026, participants will take part in Hack Day, where they will meet engineers from King’s and explore real-life robotics in action. The programme will culminate in the Challenge Day in April 2026, when school teams will put their robots to the test in front of a panel of judges.

Panellists and judges will be drawn from a wide pool, including existing partnerships with the Science Museum and the British Interplanetary Society (BIS), as well as other institutional and industry connections of King’s engineers.

Kathryn Boast, Senior Outreach Manager said:

"We’re delighted that this funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering will bring the Girls Robotics Challenge to so many more people – girls, King’s students and researchers!

It’s been wonderful in this pilot year to see the girls grow in their confidence and ability over the course of the programme, and to know we can do that at a much bigger scale is really exciting."

As part of the expanded robotics competition, the team will develop a resource pack that can be widely shared in a format suitable for schools, with the aim of establishing multiple regional hubs in the future. The pack will be distributed through the BIS, as well as networks of teachers, schools, academics and public engagement professionals, helping to extend its reach and impact nationwide. An estimated 500 young people will engage with the educational resources developed for the challenge.

Schools can express interest in participating by completing an online form by 14 July 2025.