At Măgurele Science Park, we believe that every student passionate about science and technology deserves to be encouraged to learn more, aim higher, and do better.
We inspire students to dive into the fascinating world of robotics, alongside our partners at Robohub, as we proudly mark the third edition of the “Make Your City Smart” robotics competition.
This competition is dedicated to encouraging the programmers of tomorrow, launched by Măgurele Science Park and Robohub.
This year’s edition was launched in February.
Students joined the competition by submitting an essay titled:
“What does a smart city look like, and what role can robots play in it?”
The authors of the 10 most interesting and engaging essays, which met the criteria listed in the official rules (originality, ability to use technical terms, creativity, and inspirational thinking) were selected to move on to the next stage.
What did the next stage of the competition involve?
The next stage of the competition consisted of a training session led by Ana Maria Stancu from Robohub, during which students learned about the functionality and purpose of a LiDAR sensor, the concept of radio frequency, and what a code is and how it can be used.
In addition to this session, students received robotics kits from Măgurele Science Park, which included a traffic light module, a small car, and a BBC Micro:Bit basic kit.
The goal was for each student to think creatively about how to use these components to develop a project that illustrates their vision of a smart city.
The Final Stage of the Competition
The final phase involved the presentation of the projects, evaluation by the jury, and awarding of the winners.
Our jury panel included:
- Ana Maria Stancu (CEO of Bucharest Robots, founder of Robohub),
- Raluca Constantinescu (trainer and developer of ECDL modules),
- Iulian Dima (co-founder of Inventika Place and ARTESA).
This Year’s Winner
This year’s winner was Sebastian, who took his project to the next level by integrating all the components into a detailed model of a smart city.
In Sebastian’s vision, the smart city uses a cable car system to transport students to school, solar and wind energy as the main sources of power, and smart traffic lights to manage urban mobility. A standout feature of his project was an automated irrigation system designed to support the city’s greenery – a surprising and thoughtful touch that impressed the jury.
Why is the Măgurele Science Park Association doing all this?
Studies such as PISA 2022 indicate a decline in STEM competencies among students.
Moreover, research published on platforms like zippia.com—a resource for career guidance—shows that job automation is increasing by approximately 17% each year.
This highlights the urgent need to prepare the next generations to understand and operate these technologies, and to view such statistics as an opportunity, not a threat.
Through initiatives and events like this, the Măgurele Science Park Association works hand-in-hand with teachers, experts, and parents to build a future in which students can adapt more easily to the job market and engage productively with technology.
We move forward with confidence and enthusiasm
For the participants, the journey doesn’t end here.
We don’t just want to congratulate and reward the students—we want to support them in pursuing their passions, with the help of our community partners.
One such partner is Bit&R, which is offering all participating students a discount code for their code-learning platform and a free one-year subscription for the students who placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the competition.
We are also grateful to have had the support this year of ECDL – ICDL Romania and Dacris, who contributed to the prizes awarded to the winners. We look forward to working with them again in future events that connect students with the world of IT.
A big thank you goes out to our partners at Robohub, both for their collaboration and for hosting the event.
If you’re curious, they’ve recently launched a free AI introduction guide for teachers, which is available online and well worth checking out!
Until the next edition, let’s remember just how fast technology evolves—and that “the one who created the alarm clock taught us the first step toward robotics.”
