About

A New International STEM Competition for High School and University Students

Edition 2025

🚀 Welcome to the Challenge

The Space Engineering Challenge by UPT is a national competition that invites high school and university students to design and build advanced robotic systems for space exploration scenarios.

Each year, participants tackle new environments — from planetary caves to orbital paths or icy terrains — solving real-world engineering problems inspired by modern space missions.

Whether it flies, drives, maps, or samples — your robot will help write the next chapter of space exploration.

🎯 Why Join?

• Explore the intersection of robotics, science, and space engineering
• Gain hands-on experience in embedded systems, autonomy, and navigation
• Work in a team and learn from top experts and mentors
• Showcase your creativity and skills on a national platform
• Compete for trophies, awards, and industry recognition

📅 2025 Edition: Subsurface Exploration Robots

This year’s mission: Design an autonomous rover capable of navigating underground cave-like environments.
Your robot will face challenges such as:

• 3D mapping
• Low-light navigation
• Terrain traversal
• Object detection and sampling

👩‍🚀 Who Can Participate?

• High School Section: Teams of 2–3 students (ages 13–19) + adult mentor
• University Section: Teams of 2–3 students (bachelor level) + academic/mentor supervisor

All official communication and documentation is in English.

🏆 Awards & Recognition

Teams compete for:

• Best Overall Project
• Best Engineering Design
• Best Scientific Understanding
• Best Project Management
• Special Mentions

All finalist teams receive certificates and jury feedback.

🗓️ Key Dates

• June 15th: Challenge Launch & Registration Opens
• September 15: Application Deadline
• November 01: Milestone Report Presentations
• 21-23 November: Onsite competition

👥 Organized by

Politehnica University of Timișoara (UPT)
in collaboration with industry and academic partners

✨ Are You Ready to Explore?

Start your mission today.
Build the future. Command the mission.

👉 [Register Now]
👉 [Download Official Regulations]
👉 [Contact Us]