The MechaByte robotics team from Paradis International College achieved an exceptional performance for both Iași and Romanian education at the prestigious international competition, the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) European Premier Event, held between June 16–21 in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Our students returned home with the prestigious “Innovate Award” (2nd Place), presented by the jury following a flawless demonstration of engineering, creativity, and technological vision. The competition, held in the technological heart of the Netherlands, was highly competitive, bringing together the top 105 robotics teams from around the world.
A Historic Final: Iași, the Capital of European Robotics
Following extremely challenging matches against the world’s elite during the qualifying stages, the grand final was an exclusively Romanian affair, demonstrating our country’s absolute supremacy in this field. The MechaByte team from Paradis International College fought in the play-offs as part of a powerful alliance formed with the CyLiis team (“Grigore Moisil” Theoretical High School of Informatics in Iași), earning the title of European Vice-Champions and bringing Iași its well-deserved title of “the city of robots.”
Paradis International College extends its warmest congratulations to their alliance partners at CyLiis, as well as to the grand winners of the tournament: the “Cybermoon” team (“Constantin Diaconovici Loga” National College in Timișoara) and the “Undefined” team (“Nicolae Grigorescu” National College in Câmpina).
“Behind the title of European Vice-Champions and this exceptional award lies a titanic, season-long effort—an intense journey where our students innovated, tested, and grew every single day. This performance proves that passion, collaboration, critical thinking, and hundreds of hours spent in the lab can turn bold dreams into reality.
We congratulate our students from the bottom of our hearts, along with their coordinating teachers, Andreea Ioniță and Tudor Tocilă, and their inspirational mentors, Dragoș Băbușanu and Sebastian Tănase. Our gratitude and congratulations also go out to teacher Mirela Țibu and the principal of the High School of Informatics, Prof. Dr. Adina Mihaela Romanescu,” stated Oana-Mihaela Albu, Founder of Paradis International College.
Supporting the STEAM Movement
The Paradis community expresses its deep gratitude to the “Nație Prin Educație” Association, the organization that has been developing, supporting, and inspiring the STEAM movement and this extraordinary educational project in Romania for a decade, giving young people the chance to compete at the highest global level.
The “Nație Prin Educație” Association is a non-profit organization founded by Dana Războiu, which promotes and supports STEM education annually for over 5,000 high school students and their mentors. Since 2016, the association has been the official organizer of the FIRST Tech Challenge National STEAM Education Program. The association develops and coordinates all aspects of the project regarding Romanian teams, organizing annual regional and national competitions dedicated to high school students. More information is available at natie.ro.