The 'Homosapiens' robotics team from the B.P. Hasdeu National College in Buzau won the Inspire Award 2nd Place in the Sea Division, the most prestigious award in the FIRST Tech Challenge, at the Western Edge Premiere Event in Long Beach, California, United States.

Following a series of qualification matches and several victories, the robotics team announced on Sunday that it had secured the second place at the Western Edge Premiere Event, a global robotics competition held in the United States.

'We are extremely proud that our team won the Inspire Award 2nd Place in the Sea Division. It is the most prestigious award in the FIRST Tech Challenge and reflects a team's performance both on and off the field through its robot, outreach activities, sustainability efforts and impact within the community. This result represents the hard work, passion and development of the entire team throughout the season and motivates us to continue growing and inspiring others,' the team said in a Facebook post.

The Western Edge Premiere Event 2026, a robotics competition held under the FIRST Tech Challenge programme, took place in Long Beach, California, from 28 to 31 May.

'Eighty-eight teams from around the world took part in the competition. The contest was extremely close and the qualification matches were challenging. We managed to win eight out of ten matches. We lost one match because of a technical issue. The competition is very demanding because we spend from seven in the morning until seven in the evening in the robotics arena and both the matches and the pressure levels are intense. This competition is not judged solely on the matches themselves. It is much more complex. The teams' engineering portfolios are evaluated and these contain the activities carried out throughout the entire competition season. The way these young people present their work is very important. The fact that all interviews are conducted in English and that they managed to convince the judges that they are among the best competitors is truly exceptional,' team mentor Amalia Voicu told AGERPRES from the United States.

The Homosapiens team is part of the National STEAM Education Programme FIRST Tech Challenge, organised by the Nation Through Education Association, which includes more than 220 teams from across Romania and over 5,000 students and their mentors each year.

It is the second robotics team from the college to achieve outstanding results in the United States at a competition of this kind, after 'Heart of RoBot' became world runner-up in May at the FIRST Tech Challenge competition in Houston, Texas, winning the Goodall Division, securing first place in the Da Vinci Division and receiving the Inspire Award, a first for Romania. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Florin Zafiu; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)