TIS Wins Design Award at VEX World Championship 2026

Article by Robert Flower, TIS Secondary Computer Science Teacher and Robotics Coach

Three years ago, our robotics program began as a shared vision among a few ambitious students. Back then, we were still learning how to use the tools. But what we lacked in experience, we made up for with relentless inquiry and an insatiable hunger to learn. Those early days were defined by quiet dedication: coming to school early to study footage of high-level robot matches, and spending hours deciphering dense, college-level research papers on systems such as PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) control systems. We were building from the ground up, one line of code and one tightened screw at a time. Our students built simple claw bots, and dreamed of being an elite team.

This year, the narrative has shifted.

Our team set out with a mission statement: Excellence isn’t the goal, it’s the standard. Our students applied this at every match this year bringing home numerous trophies. But I was most proud of seeing them become leaders. A major impact on my own path has been Arnold Schwarzenegger’s six principles of success: trust yourself, think outside the box, don't be afraid to fail, ignore the naysayers, work relentlessly, and above all, give something back.

Reaching Down the Ladder

Our commitment to leadership and collaboration took us far beyond the walls of our own lab this year:

• ACAMIS Coding Workshop in Shanghai: In September, our student leaders traveled to Shanghai to lead a comprehensive coding workshop for ACAMIS network schools. We transitioned from students to teachers, helping other aspiring engineers decode the complexities of programming.

• STEM Day and EmpowHERed: Back on our home campus, we successfully created and hosted STEM Day, a hands-on event designed to spark curiosity in younger students. Alongside this, we proudly launched the EmpowHERed initiative, specifically focused on encouraging and supporting young women in STEM fields, breaking down barriers and fostering an inclusive environment.

• Borderless Collaboration: Robotics is a universal language. All season long, we actively collaborated with teams from Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Vietnam, and our local Macao community. From sharing match feedback to troubleshooting problems over video calls, we proved that innovation thrives in a connected community, not in isolation.

Trusting the Engineering Design Process

Behind the outreach and the events, the core of our daily work remained grounded in the rigorous Engineering Design Process.

Every success we had on the field was born from a cycle of asking questions, brainstorming solutions, prototyping, testing, and relentlessly iterating. We learned to embrace failure not as a setback, but as a crucial data point. Every iteration of our robot was meticulously documented, mapping our journey from an initial sketch to a highly complex, competitive machine.

Our students stopped just writing down what they built and started letting the engineering process dictate how they built it, like engineers do.

The Ultimate Validation: VEX Worlds

This journey brought them to the Vex Robotics World Championship 2026 in St. Louis, USA. After the first few days of jet lag and exploring landmarks, our students immediately got to work with their global scrimmage alliance, partnering with teams from across the world. Night after night, they relentlessly fine-tuned their robot, sharpened strategies, and built relationships that made the experience bigger than competition. Instead of working alone, we partnered with other teams, improving skills, tightening mechanisms, and pushing each other to level up for the Worlds.

A standout moment was the Parade of Nations, where both of our teams had the distinct honor of representing Macao on the global stage. Stepping out into the massive arena, Harry (Grade 11) proudly held our flag high, leading the entire Macao delegation into the heart of the World Championship.

Design Award: Built for Real Engineering

Four grueling days of competition had pushed our code and our spirits to the limit. As our twelfth match ended and our robots sat battered on the field, we were ready to concede that our journey was over. But then, cutting through the noise of the arena, the announcer’s voice rang out: 'Team 85301X, No!'

We are incredibly proud to announce that our team was awarded the Design Award at the VEX Robotics World Championship.

This award is a testament to everything we stand for. It doesn't just recognize a robot that performs well; It is the 2nd most prestigious judged award given to the team with the most professional, effective and well-documented engineering design cycles. Design is, in one simple sentence, presented to the team that already thinks and acts like real world engineers. Watch the win HERE.

85301X, 'No!', is the first high school VEX robotics team in Mainland China or SARs to have won the Design Award at the High School World Championship in the history of VEX

Perspective on Achievement

To put it into perspective: Out of 55,000 teams competing worldwide, only 860 qualify for the World Championship (fewer than 2% of all participants) - Two of our teams made it to this group.

Even within that elite group, the Design Award remains a pinnacle of achievement. Only roughly 0.1% of those world-qualifying teams earn this distinction, making it one of the rarest and most prestigious honors in the global competition. Team X accomplished something that we couldn't even dream of when we started the program.

A Foundation for the Future

Winning the Design Award at VEX Worlds is a dream realised, but it is not the finish line.

The most important thing we built this year wasn't a robot. It was a culture.

By learning, leading, and pulling others up the ladder with us, we have laid a rock-solid foundation for the future of STEM at our school. The tools are no longer foreign to us, the systems are mastered, and the next generation of student leaders is already stepping up, ready to engineer a brighter tomorrow. This year we pushed back against limitations, and reached for the highest stake, while beating the over under odds. Next year we look to override the future.