Alphire 26456: Turning Robotics into Opportunities

About Alphire

We are Alphire, a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics team from Brazil. FTC is one of the world's largest educational robotics competitions, where students aged 12 to 15 design, engineer, build, program, and operate a robot to solve an annual engineering challenge. Beyond the competition itself, our mission is much greater: to use robotics as a vehicle to inspire young people and expand access to STEAM education wherever opportunities do not yet exist.

During this reporting period, we achieved milestones that perfectly represent this mission.

World in Flames: Bringing FTC to New Countries

One of the projects we are most proud of is World in Flames, an international outreach initiative created to expand the global FTC community.

Through this project, our students contacted organizations, schools, and educators in more than 50 countries, presenting the opportunities that FIRST Tech Challenge can bring to young people. These efforts resulted in 17 international meetings with interested groups.

The outcome exceeded our expectations. Together with these new partners, we successfully helped establish four new FTC teams across three different countries.

Perhaps the most meaningful achievement is that before our initiative, none of these three countries had any FTC teams at all. Today, these students are taking their first steps into competitive robotics because of the relationships our team built.

Our work did not end with the creation of these teams. We continue to meet with them every week, providing technical mentoring, sharing resources, and helping them prepare for their first competition season. At the same time, we are actively working with the FIRST community to support the creation of regional events that will allow these new teams to officially compete.

This project represents much more than starting new teams—it is about opening doors for students who previously had no access to the opportunities that FIRST provides.

Representing Brazil at the Mexico Premier Event

Another remarkable achievement during this period was our participation in the FIRST Tech Challenge Mexico Premier Event, an international competition that brought together 35 of the best teams from 8 different countries.

For three intense days, students competed in robot matches while also participating in detailed judging sessions, where they presented not only their engineering process but also the impact of their outreach initiatives. Our students demonstrated confidence, technical knowledge, and professionalism throughout every interview and match.

At the conclusion of the event, our team received the Inspire Award 2nd Place, the highest honor in the FIRST Tech Challenge. This award recognizes the team that best embodies the values of FIRST and serves as an inspiration to every other team through excellence in engineering, innovation, outreach, leadership, and community impact.

Receiving the Inspire Award on an international stage was an unforgettable moment for our students. It validated months of dedication, countless hours of volunteer work, and our belief that young people from Brazil can make a meaningful impact not only within their own communities but across the world.

As we look ahead, we remain committed to expanding access to STEAM education, empowering new students through robotics, and building an even stronger international FIRST community.

Links:

• www.alphalumen.org.br