UAE Students Win Historic Second Place at LEGO Robotics Championship

A UAE student team secured second place at the 2026 FIRST LEGO League Asia Open Championship in Beijing, achieving a national record

By News National Editorial Team

A team of young students from the United Arab Emirates has achieved a historic international milestone by securing second place in the prestigious Champion's Award at the FIRST LEGO League Asia Open Championship 2026, held in Beijing, China.

The team, representing the Hamdan Centre for Giftedness and Innovation, competed against international participants and achieved the highest-ever placement by a UAE team in international FIRST LEGO League competitions.

The championship took place from August 13 to 16, 2026. The result also marked the first time a UAE team had secured a position among the top three in the competition's Champion's Award category.

Five students represent the UAE

The successful team comprised five students:

• Hamdan Rashid Al Mansoori

• Khaled Mohammed Al Amadi

• Abdulkarim Yousuf Bu Khashm

• Abdullah Fahad Al Mahmoud

• Sayed Mansour Sayed Hassan Al Hashemi

Their achievement followed a successful national competition journey. The team first won the Dubai FIRST LEGO League competition before becoming UAE champions for the 2025–2026 season. This secured their opportunity to represent the country at the international event in Beijing.

What makes the Champion's Award special?

The Champion's Award recognises a team's overall performance across several important areas of the competition, rather than evaluating only the robot's performance.

The judging process considers four major components:

1. Innovation Project: Students identify a real-world problem, research it and develop an innovative solution.

2. Robot Design: Teams demonstrate their engineering skills through the design and construction of their robots.

3. Robot Performance: Robots are evaluated on their ability to complete assigned missions during competition rounds.

4. Core Values: Judges assess teamwork, collaboration, respect, discovery and the students' approach to learning.

Securing second place therefore reflects the team's combined performance in engineering, programming, creativity, problem-solving and teamwork.

Preparation behind the achievement

Before travelling to Beijing, the students completed specialised training at the Hamdan Centre for Giftedness and Innovation.

The preparation programme included robot design and programming using LEGO Education, analysis of competition challenges, engineering solution development and work on the Innovation Project.

Students also received training in presentation skills, critical thinking, communication and teamwork. Practice competition sessions helped prepare them for the technical challenges and judging process.

The centre is part of the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences, which supports gifted students through specialised educational and development programmes.

A significant achievement for UAE education

The second-place finish represents an important milestone for the UAE's participation in international robotics competitions.

It demonstrates how structured STEM education can provide students with opportunities to develop practical engineering skills and compete internationally.

FIRST LEGO League combines science, technology, engineering, mathematics, research and hands-on robotics. Students work together to develop solutions to real-world challenges while learning how to design and programme robots.

News National Perspective

The UAE team's achievement is more than a competition result. It highlights the importance of identifying young talent, providing access to advanced learning opportunities and encouraging students to turn creative ideas into practical engineering solutions.

As robotics and artificial intelligence become increasingly important across industries, developing these skills at an early age can help prepare the next generation for future technological challenges.

The students' historic second-place finish in Beijing is an encouraging example of what dedicated training, teamwork and educational support can achieve on the international stage.