IDLab - AIRO is a proud partner in the social robot competition for secondary schools organized by Dwengo. In this competition students ages 12 to 16 take on the challenge to solve a societally relevant problem using a social robot. In this second edition of the competition, students get challenged to create a robot that supports parents with the upbringing of their children.

Dwengo vzw once again organizes the “Social Robot” competition in the 2025–2026 school year

In the 2025–2026 school year, Dwengo vzw will once again organize the unique “Social Robot” competition for students in the first and second grades of secondary education.
Dwengo is supporting this initiative so that young people can continue to develop their technological and computational skills by building social robots that address a societal challenge.

Think, for example, of robots that help people live healthier lives or better understand each other.

Support and programming environment

To support participating schools, Dwengo provides free teaching materials that align with educational goals related to key competencies such as computational thinking and technology.
Schools can also make use of the free programming environment DwenguinoBlockly.

Robot kits via the educational networks

This year, Dwengo itself will not provide any materials.
Schools can borrow the “social robot” kits free of charge through their educational network, while supplies last.
In this way, all participating teams will still have access to the necessary hardware to develop their robot projects.

Open lab and training sessions for teachers

For teachers and schools seeking additional support, Dwengo will organize an open lab on Wednesday, September 17, at De Krook Library (Ghent), where guidance related to the project will be offered.

In addition, there will be several paid training sessions covering the content and objectives of the competition.
All information can be found at www.dwengo.org/agenda.

Selection and final

Teams must submit a technical sheet and a presentation video of their social robot.
In April 2026, an expert jury will select the 16 best teams.
These teams will be invited to the grand final on May 27, 2026, where they can present their robot projects and compete for a prize.

Registration and more information

Registration is open to all schools in the first and second grades of secondary education, regardless of prior knowledge or experience with robotics.

More information, registration, and support materials can be found at:
👉 www.dwengo.org/socialerobotwedstrijd

Contact information

Dwengo vzw
📧 Email: robotwedstrijd@dwengo.org
🌐 Web: www.dwengo.org