Students from Favrskov Gymnasium Set for FIRST Global Challenge in Panama in October

For most high school students, the idea of representing Denmark on an international stage for robot technology might seem far-fetched. But that’s exactly what awaits a group of five students from Favrskov Gymnasium, who will travel to Panama this October to compete in the FIRST Global Challenge.

We met the team to talk about technology, national and international robotics competitions — and, of course, to see their robot in action. The students gave us a demonstration, showing how components are added to the robot, and Casper explained how he codes the commands in Java, making it possible to steer the robot with a joystick. 

The robot has been designed and built entirely by the students, with guidance from their teacher. All materials for construction are predefined by the organizers, ensuring that all countries compete on equal terms. 

“It’s fun to create something with your hands,” says Simon, describing the excitement of building and programming the robot that will represent them in the competition. 

The students qualified through a nationwide competition at the Department of Computer Science, Aarhus University, organized by Ole Caprani, Søren Poulsen and Hans Klysner. There, they demonstrated how a robot could be designed and programmed to complete a series of complex tasks — requiring both technical precision and creative problem-solving. 

The FIRST Global Challenge will take place from October 29 to November 1, 2025, in Panama City, with students from more than 190 countries expected to participate. The competition is an olympics-style, international robotics competition that takes place in a different country each year.
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A Study Program with High Ambitions 

The team consists of Laura My Led Frederiksen, Laura Andrea Roager, Victoria Henneberg Hasager, Simon Nørgaard Andersen and Casper Schmidt Jensen. Last year, they took the informatics course, and now they’re building robots in their spare time and between classes. They are in the entrepreneurship track with a focus on business economics and technology/informatics. 

We also met and talked with their teacher and competition mentor, Jens Horskjær Hvelplund, as well as the pedagogical leader at Favrskov Gymnasium, Bente Madsen. 

Three of the students first came up with the idea of entering the competition, and soon it developed into a full team project. Since then, they have invested many hours in building, coding, and testing their robot. 

For Favrskov Gymnasium, the participation is also evidence that its entrepreneurship study program is working well. The school hopes their success will inspire more young people to pursue science and technology subjects. 

Teamwork 

Team spirit has been another crucial factor. Laura explains that their success in building the robot comes from the fact that the team members have different strengths and that they divided the tasks, working simultaneously on different parts of the robot. 

“We just kept going, even when things went wrong. We tested, adjusted, and made the robot better every time,” she says. 

The students have also spent countless hours in the lab, where the desire to perform well in the next competition has been a major motivating factor. “You kinda forget about the time here,” Simon adds. 

Looking Ahead 

For several team members, this project has already influenced their future plans. Laura is considering studying robotics engineering at Aarhus University, while Casper is quite certain that he wants to study computer science. One team member is exploring design, while others have yet to decide. 

“This has shown us new opportunities within technology,” one of them reflects. 

Ready for the Challenge 

When the team travels overseas in late October, they’ll bring both excitement and pride. The tasks at the FIRST Global Challenge are designed to be highly challenging, but the Favrskov Gymnasium students feel well-prepared - even though there’s still a lot of work ahead. 

Whatever the outcome, the experience of representing Denmark at an international technology competition will stay with them — and it may even mark the beginning of further technological adventures for the talented students from Favrskov Gymnasium.