FIRST Robotics program set to kick off in January, with BAE Systems providing support – The Union Leader

The FIRST robotics community will move full speed ahead with its team-based robotics programs this season, although the experience might look slightly different because of the pandemic.

We had to make a bunch of modifications, especially for the younger age groups, said Mark Giordono, vice-president of development with FIRST.

FIRST Lego League already started its season this fall with teams either meeting in-person or remotely depending on the status of their school districts, according to Giordono.

The FIRST Robotics program for high school students will kick off next month and will operate in a similar fashion, he said. There will be tons of remote collaboration taking place, said Giordono, adding each team will decide how to make the situation work for them, and then share their success with the rest of the FIRST community.

We always help each other out. There is a strong culture of collaboration, said Christine Miska, founder of her own FIRST team and BAE Systems engineer director.

The FIRST programs are even more critical this year, according to Miska, who said that during a time when remote learning has become the norm, providing students with another opportunity to collaborate with their peers and become a part of a team is vitally important.

One of the main objectives of FIRST is to work together as a unified team to solve problems. The pandemic is simply another challenge these teams must face and overcome, and they are doing it seamlessly, said Miska.

On Monday, FIRST announced that BAE Systems is now one of its new strategic partners. To date, the company has donated more than $9 million to FIRST teams and events, and provided thousands of hours of employee volunteerism while also granting $40,000 in scholarships to FIRST students each year and sponsoring hundreds of FIRST teams across the nation.

We have seen kids transform from super shy to confidently presenting as part of a team up in front of a large group, said Miska, stressing FIRST is so much more than just robots.

It inspires students through collaboration, critical thinking and creativity, Tom Arseneault, president and CEO at BAE Systems, Inc., said in a statement. That is why BAE Systems is a proud partner of FIRST, and why our employees are strong supporters of the students who will carry these leadership experiences with them for the rest of their lives.

FIRST also exposes children to STEM fields at an early age, helping to build their confidence and, possibly, create future engineers, operators or technicians, explained Miska.

Giordono agreed, adding BAE Systems has been working with FIRST for the past 25 years, working tirelessly to help support FIRSTs programs, mission and overall success.

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FIRST Robotics program set to kick off in January, with BAE Systems providing support - The Union Leader