Coding beyond the Classroom: Robotics Competition Enlivens Learning

More than 100 young people take the coding challenge at the 8th RoboLeague

Tech enthusiasm, teamwork and a lot of programming know-how were in the spotlight on May 21, 2026, at the 8th KNAPP RoboLeague contest in Hart bei Graz. Around 40 teams from Styria, Carinthia and, for the first time, Vienna entered the robotics contest, competing in various disciplines with their self-programmed robots.

Passion for coding

The friendly competition in Hart bei Graz was a change of pace from the development of logistics solutions for the world market. More than 100 pupils from ten schools accepted the challenge of solving complex tasks using robots they built and programmed themselves. The sustained interest over the better part of the past decade shows that this competition has become an annual tradition for tech-savvy schools. “At the RoboLeague, young people experience programming hands-on. They see that it is not abstract or theoretical. With a couple lines of code, they literally make something move. At the same time, they learn to solve problems in a team. These skills are essential for tomorrow’s digital careers,” explains Thomas Ulz, Head of Software Development at KNAPP Industry Solutions.

The champions of RoboLeague 2026

In five disciplines ranging from following a line precisely to finding objects to navigating through narrow spaces, the competitors used the systems Makeblock^® mBot2 and LEGO^® Mindstorms EV3 to contend for a place on the podium. Pupils began preparing for the competition weeks in advance during class. At the competition, the young teams of programmers worked independently to give their robots last-minute performance tweaks. After an intense day competing, the following schools celebrated their wins and free movie tickets: Peraugymnasium Villach, Semriach Middle School, BG/BRG/BORG Köflach and Dobl Private Middle School. The event was refereed by 20 KNAPP apprentices, who ensured that the competition was fair and that everything went off without a hitch.

Proving ground for young coders and tech fans

RoboLeague was brought to life in cooperation with the BRG Kepler school and provides middle school and high school students an easy way to get started with programming, logic and problem solving. From the beginning, KNAPP – a specialist in automation in robotics – has been a dedicated partner of the competition. Furthermore, as a founding member of the MINTality Foundation, KNAPP encourages girls and young women who are interested in careers in tech. Instead of dry theory, the RoboLeague provides students with hands-on experience where the code they have written themselves allows a robot to make autonomous movement decisions. Code-based languages such as Python, C++ or Java are used to program the robots.

For more information, please visit www.roboleague.at

KNAPP RoboLeague 2026 winners: