FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) helps students discover the rewards and excitement of science, engineering, and technology. Approximately 1,500 teams consisting of over 37,500 high school students from Brazil, Canada, Chile, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States will compete in the FIRST robotics competitions.

Each build season, teams are provided with the same robot kit including a variety of essential parts such as batteries, a control system, motors, and a mix of automation components. However, this kit does not include any instructions or schematics to assist in the robot design. Working with professional mentors, students have six weeks to design, program, build, and test their robot to meet the expectations and specifications of the FIRST competition guidelines. The FIRST competitions are usually object-oriented games that require intense preparation, design, and careful construction of the robot to participate competitively in the challenge. The FIRST program provides a challenging and enriching environment to foster engineering skills in a professional atmosphere.