Four students represent Dominica at 2026 FIRST Global Challenge in South Korea

Dominica: Four young roboticists, along with their mentors, from Dominica will be representing the country at the 2026 FIRST Global Challenge, which is taking place from October 7 to October 10, 2026, in Incheon, Republic of Korea.

The Dominica Robotics Team named, Nature Isle Robotics includes the following representatives:

Kaelan Matthew: Saint Mary’s Academy

Leonelle Lewis: Dominica Grammar School

Kitarah Eustache: Dominica State College

Naiyeelie Moreau: Dominica State College

They will be accompanied by their mentors Phoenix Jacques and Odessa Dinnard, along with Kodie Jean-Jacques, who will also be serving on the team’s mentorship.

The FIRST Global Challenge, often described as “Robotics Olympics,” brings together youth teams from more than 190 countries to compete and demonstrate their skills in robotics, engineering, programming and problem-solving.

The four students representing Dominica were selected from the wider Nature Isle Robotics programme, which includes Saint Mary’s Academy, Dominica Grammar School, Dominica State College, Convent High School, and Pierre Charles Secondary School.

The team has worked together to design, build, program and test the robot that will represent Dominica in South Korea, over the past months.

Only four students are travelling but the robot represents the collective work of the entire wider team.

Nature Isle Robotics was established in 2018, which is a volunteer-driven youth STEM initiative operating under the Dominica Robotics Association.

Team Dominica Robotics shared insights from the Day 1 of the FIRST Global Challenge, through a social media post noting, "Here’s a quick look at what’s happening in the pits today:

Decorating Our Booth: Setting up our space to represent our nation with pride!

Batteries Charging: Powering up for high-energy practice runs ahead.

Robot Testing & Tuning: Fine-tuning every gear, motor, and line of code to make sure our bot is 100% ready for match play.”

The Dominica Robotics Association extended their gratitude towards the Government of Dominica, Dominica State College, Create Caribbean, National Bank of Dominica, PetroCaribe, Republic Bank, Morancie and Sons, Central Cooperative Credit Union, Carlton Philip, Campbells, Daniel Fadelle, 767.dev, and Trudy Christian, for their support in getting the team to participate in South Korea.