TEAM ROBOTICS JAMAICA MINES GOLD: Young Jamaican Innovators Make History on the Global Robotics Stage

Urban➕Caribbean Media Right at Your Fingertips

Jamaica continues to show the world that its young people have the talent, creativity and determination to compete on the highest international stages.

In October 2023, Team Jamaica Robotics returned home from Singapore with a major international achievement — gold at the 2023 FIRST Global Challenge, earning the Katherine Johnson Award for Engineering Documentation.

The competition took place from October 7–10, 2023, at the Singapore EXPO Centre and brought together 191 teams representing countries from around the world. The 2023 challenge focused on hydrogen as a clean energy carrier, with students exploring robotics, energy technology and sustainable solutions through the competition’s “Hydrogen Horizons” game.

GOLD FOR JAMAICA 🇯🇲

For Team Jamaica, the victory was especially significant because the Katherine Johnson Award recognizes the team that best demonstrates and documents the journey involved in building its robot.

The award is named after Katherine Johnson, the pioneering African-American mathematician whose calculations contributed to NASA’s early human spaceflight missions.

Team Jamaica’s achievement represented the country’s first-ever gold medal at the international robotics competition. The previous year, Jamaica had earned silver in the Albert Einstein Award category for FIRST Global International Excellence.

MEET THE YOUNG INNOVATORS

The 2023 team included students from several Jamaican schools, including Campion College, Wolmer’s Boys’ School, Glenmuir High School, Hillel Academy and the American International School of Kingston. The team was captained by Johnathan Smith of Campion College.

The team was supported by coaches and chaperones and received sponsorship from the Union of Jamaica Alumni Associations (UJAA).

MORE THAN JUST A ROBOT

The significance of Team Jamaica’s accomplishment goes beyond the machine itself.

According to coach Gavin Samuels, robotics develops much more than technical abilities. Students also build skills in communication, public speaking, documentation, collaboration and creativity — skills that can serve them well far beyond the competition floor.

That message is particularly important for Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, where opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics can help young people prepare for an increasingly technology-driven world.

The 2023 FIRST Global Challenge itself was designed around international collaboration and STEM innovation. FIRST Global reported that the Singapore event directly impacted approximately 1,800 students, with 37% female participation and more than 85 projects developed by teams to advance renewable energy.

A MOMENT OF JAMAICAN PRIDE

When Team Jamaica arrived back in Kingston following its historic performance, the achievement was celebrated as a moment of national pride.

The gold medal demonstrated that Jamaican youth are not simply consumers of technology — they can also be innovators, problem-solvers, engineers and creators.

And perhaps one of the most powerful messages from this victory is that the future of technology does not belong to one country or one region. Young innovators from Jamaica and across the Caribbean have a place at that table.

Team Jamaica Robotics showed up, competed internationally and brought home GOLD. 🇯🇲🥇🤖

Congratulations to Team Jamaica Robotics, their coaches, mentors, families, schools and supporters for putting Jamaican innovation on the global stage.

This is Caribbean excellence. This is the future. And this is definitely a story worth telling.

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