More Than Robots: What 25 Years of the Berkshire Robotics Challenge Teaches Us

This was my son Jack’s third year competing in the Berkshire Robotics Challenge. At 12 years old, he has now spent several months each year building, programming, testing, and refining a robot with his teammates, all leading up to a single day of competition. He had never made the playoff round, and this year, he very much wanted to.

This year, he found himself in the role of the “veteran.”  His teammates were younger and were new to the competition.  He took the responsibility seriously. Together, the team set out to build something ambitious, pursuing a design that was both creative and, at least for them, unproven.

A few weeks before the competition, however, that plan began to unravel. What they had been working toward simply was not going to function as intended and with time running short, the team made the difficult decision to abandon their approach and start over with a simpler design. It was the right decision, but not an easy one. Jack understood immediately what it meant: even if everything went perfectly on competition day, their new robot would probably not be able to generate enough points to carry them into the playoff round.

That prediction proved accurate. The team performed well, and their robot did what it was designed to do, but the scores reflected the reality of a late-stage reset. As the final round approached, they were out of contention.

With little time remaining and no realistic path to advance, the team gathered in a corner of the gym and went back to work. Together, they decided to attempt one additional challenge—something they had not previously programmed for—and worked collaboratively, under pressure, to adjust their code in real time. It was a small window, a tight timeline, and an uncertain outcome, but in their final run it worked. They completed the additional task and added meaningful points to their score.

It did not change the standings, and it did not bring them close to advancing, but it did represent something important: the team had responded to a setback, recalibrated, and executed together without prompting, without certainty, and without any guarantee of reward.  This effort did not go unnoticed. At the end of the day, the team was selected to receive the “Spirit Award” – a recognition that reflected not just what they built, but how they worked together to overcome adversity.

As a parent, I was proud of what they had accomplished. At the same time, as someone who spends a great deal of time working with employers across the region, I found myself reflecting on how closely that experience aligns with what we consistently hear from industry. While technical skills remain essential, it is often the ability to adapt, communicate, and work through challenges as a team that ultimately determines success.

That realization felt particularly fitting in the context of this year’s event, which marked the 25th anniversary of the Berkshire Robotics Challenge. Walking through the gym, the milestone was evident not just in the scale of participation or the level of competition, but in the sense of continuity that has developed over time. I spoke with parents who had once participated in the same challenge as students and were now watching their own children navigate the same process, encountering many of the same frustrations, breakthroughs, and moments of growth along the way.

Programs do not sustain themselves for 25 years by accident. They endure because they continue to deliver value and because they evolve while remaining grounded in a clear and consistent purpose. The Berkshire Robotics Challenge is a strong example of this. While it introduces students to engineering, coding, and technology—and while those skills are increasingly important—it is clear that something more foundational is taking place.

Throughout the day, you see students working through challenges that extend well beyond the mechanics of their robots. They collaborate, communicate, and make decisions under pressure. They adapt when plans fall apart, troubleshoot in real time, and support one another through both frustration and success. These experiences reinforce a set of skills that are broadly applicable and increasingly valuable.

In conversations taking place across Massachusetts, there is a growing recognition that these capabilities are more essential than ever in today’s workforce. As technology continues to evolve, particularly with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, the tools and platforms that individuals use will continue to change. The ability to think critically, to adapt, to collaborate effectively, and to navigate ambiguity is becoming increasingly important across industries.

In that context, the Berkshire Robotics Challenge is not simply preparing students to engage with technology. It is preparing them to operate in an environment where change is constant and where success depends as much on how individuals work together as it does on what they know.

This helps explain why the program has remained so strong over the past quarter century. While the technology has advanced and the applications have expanded, the underlying lessons have remained consistent—and, if anything, have become more relevant over time.

Here in the Berkshires, we often talk about how to build and sustain a workforce that can support and grow our regional economy. We speak about attracting companies, fostering innovation, and creating opportunities for young people to build careers locally. The Berkshire Robotics Challenge offers a clear and practical example of how that work begins.

It begins with exposure. It grows through experience. And it takes hold through moments like the one Jack and his teammates experienced this year—when a group of students, facing long odds and limited time, chose to keep working, solve a problem together, and push themselves further than expected.

Twenty-five years in, the Berkshire Robotics Challenge stands as a testament to what this community can build—and sustain—together. If we are serious about preparing the next generation for what lies ahead, there is no better place to start than right here.