A weekend of innovation, teamwork and technical creativity highlighted the growing impact of robotics education in the Cayman Islands, as the Dart Minds Inspired programme hosted two interschool competitions that brought together more than 160 students from 19 public and private schools across the islands.

The inaugural VEX IQ Mix & Match Junior Interschool Robotics Competition on 27 February welcomed 79 students under the age of 15 from 11 schools. Designed to introduce younger students to robotics and engineering concepts, the event challenged participants to design, build and operate VEX IQ robots while collaborating with peers from other schools. 

The momentum continued Saturday, 28 February with the 8^th annual Minds Inspired FIRST Tech Challenge, the programme’s flagship robotics event. This year’s competition featured 86 students operating 14 advanced competition robots from eight public and private schools. 

The 2026 challenge theme, DECODE, required teams to engineer robots capable of launching balls – referred to as “artifacts” – as part of the competition mission. 

This allowed students to experience the complete engineering design cycle: identifying problems, defining constraints, prototyping solutions, testing and refining their robots through repeated experimentation. The challenge emphasised perseverance and resilience – lifelong skills that can be transferred in any area of a person’s life – as teams learned from both successes and setbacks. 

The competitions continue to expand and enhance access to STEM education and encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by providing opportunities for students to explore engineering, programming and collaborative problem-solving through hands-on application. 

The addition of the junior competition represented a significant milestone for the VEX IQ robotics programme, which launched in 2024 as a pilot with five schools following a US$50,000 investment by Dart. In just one year, the programme has more than doubled its reach

Glenda McTaggart, senior manager of education programmes at Dart, said the continued growth of the robotics programme demonstrates the strong interest in STEM among Cayman’s youth.

“This has been an exceptional year for the Minds Inspired Robotics Programme, marked by the successful launch of the junior competition. The rapid growth of the programme reflects a broader commitment to introducing STEM learning earlier in students’ educational journeys and creating opportunities for hands-on, collaborative problem-solving. We are proud to see how it continues to inspire students, strengthen STEM education and foster the next generation of innovators,” McTaggart said.

“Robotics is a really fun sport. It’s not just about coding and competing,” said Dezira Tatum of Grace Christian Academy, who competed for her second time this year. “It helps with critical thinking, collaborating, building friendships and making connections for future jobs.” Tatum also shared she’d like to see more girls in STEM. “You never know if you’re going to be good at it until you try.” 

The FIRST Tech Challenge serves as the qualifying platform for the Cayman Islands National Robotics Team, which competes annually at the international FIRST Global Challenge. The 2026 national team members, who will be selected for the international competition in South Korea, will be announced in the coming weeks. 

See the full list of winners below: 

Junior competition winners

• Teamwork Champion Award – Cayman Prep & High School and Cayman International School (CIS)
• Teamwork Finalist Award – Clifton Hunter High School and Grace Christian Academy
• 1st Place – Cayman Prep & High School
• 2nd Place – Hope Academy
• 3rd Place – Grace Christian Academy
• Excellence Award – First Baptist Christian School
• Design Award – Triple C School
• Innovate Award – Grace Christian Academy
• Judges’ Award – Clifton Hunter High School
• Build Award – Hope Academy
• Think Award (Programming) – St. Ignatius Catholic School
• Sportsmanship Award – Triple C School
• Coaching Award – Jerome Findley (Hope Academy)

FIRST Tech Challenge winners

• Winning Alliance Teams – CIS Science and CIS Technology
• Finalist Alliance Teams – Layman E. Scott High School and Clifton Hunter High School
• Innovation and Engineering Design Award – CIS Science
• Team Spirit Award – Triple C School
• Judges Award – Layman E. Scott High School
• Inspire Award – Clifton Hunter High School
• Coaching Award – Desmond White (John Gray High School) and Rob Hazelwood (Cayman International School)

Along with Dart, supporting sponsors included Aureum Re, Brava by Logic, Caribbean Utilities Company, Health City Cayman Islands and KPMG. 

For more information about Minds Inspired, visit mindsinspired.ky.