Google & the REC Foundation Empower More Girls To Enter STEM Fields with Second Annual Girl Powered Workshop

August 9, 2018
Girl Powered presented by Google logo

August 9, 2018 – Sunnyvale, CA – The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation is excited to help host the Google Girl Powered VEX Robotics Workshop, uniting 565 middle and high school girls for a weekend of STEM fun August 11-12, 2018 at the Google in Sunnyvale, CA. The students will gather with Google engineers to build and program VEX EDR robots, network and meet others during a series of Girl Powered activities, and put their newly built robots to the test playing a version of the VEX Robotics Competition game Turning Point.

The Workshop is an effort to engage more young women in robotics and STEM. It aims to give young women an opportunity to meet like-minded peers, explore building and programming robots with experienced volunteers at Google, and expose them to fun, hands-on STEM exploration. Girl Powered is a joint initiative by the REC Foundation and VEX Robotics to redefine the face of STEM by creating a community where all students feel welcome, able to contribute, and genuinely excited to participate.

“Girl Powered is a conversation starter for many competitive robotics participants. It is beneficial to all of us in the tech community to engage and understand a diversity of perspectives,” said Dan Mantz, CEO and Chairman of the Board at the REC Foundation. “We’re thrilled to have partners, like Google, who see that by removing barriers and providing critical learning opportunities, more young women will chose to participate in robotics and potentially enter the STEM workforce.”

“The key to making STEM subjects fun for any child is helping them overcome the fear and intimidation that surrounds activities they haven’t tried before,” explained Shiv Venkatraman, the Google Engineering VP spearheading the workshop, “It’s inspiring to see interest sparked in these girls when they realize they’re capable of bringing robots to life from scratch with the help of local volunteers, teachers, the VEX team, and mentors from Google.”

The Girl Powered initiative, now in its third year, strives to engage more young women in the robotics community through hands-on workshops, team grants, an Online Challenge, event marketing materials, and other mentor and community building opportunities. The REC Foundation, which manages the VEX IQ Challenge and VEX Robotics Competition, saw engagement among young women increase from 23% to 29% across all programs during the 2017/2018 season. In addition the to the Google Girl Powered VEX Robotics Workshop, the REC Foundation and VEX Robotics expect to feature over 100 Girl Powered workshops across the U.S. and around the world in honor of the International Day of the Girl.

For more information please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org or www.GirlPowered.com.

About the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation

The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation’s mission is to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, affordable, and sustainable robotics engineering programs.  For more information on the REC Foundation, visit www.RoboticsEducation.org.

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2025-2026 Signature Event Updates

  1. An Event Partner wanting to apply to host a Signature Event must have hosted events for at least 2 seasons prior to applying. 
  2. Signature Events must use the officially branded award banners for the Excellence Award and Tournament/Teamwork Champions Award.
  3. When hanging field skirts the VEX Robotics logo/brand name can not be covered up on the competition fields.
  4. VEX V5 Robotics Competition Signature Events may have regional capacity and max per organization restrictions lifted 8 weeks before the event if the event is not full (similar to the process already in place for VEX IQ Robotics Competition Signature Events).
  5. Minimum pit size reduced to 8’x 8’ instead of 10’x10’.
  6. Beginning in the 2025-2026 season, the REC Foundation will collect $10 instead of $5 per team registration on all Signature Events. This is to help offset travel costs for REC Foundation staff to support these larger events.

2025-2026 Signature Event Application Reminders

  1. Existing Signature Events only need to complete the Final Application (due by March 31, 2025)
  2. New Signature Event concepts will need to complete the Initial Proposal by January 31, 2025 and if approved, complete the Final Application by March 31, 2025.
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