UWTSD to host FIRST Tech Challenge competition at Swansea Waterfront Campus
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) will host a FIRST Tech Challenge competition at its IQ Building on the SA1 Swansea Waterfront campus on Saturday 14 March, welcoming 150 young people from across the region to take part in an inspiring, hands-on STEM competition.
The event forms part of FIRST Tech Challenge UK, a national robotics programme delivered by education charity FIRST UK. The challenge brings together students aged 12–18, who work in teams to design, build and programme robots to complete a global, competition-based engineering challenge.
By hosting the event, UWTSD is supporting FIRST UK’s mission to make STEM less intimidating, more diverse, and inclusive, empowering young people to make informed choices about their futures. Through strong industry engagement, the programme helps prepare young people for a future shaped by automation, data, artificial intelligence, and digital technologies. Over a six-month period, participating teams develop technical expertise alongside essential life skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, creativity, and resilience, supported by teachers and industry mentors.
The competition at the IQ Building will see teams put months of student-led learning into practice, showcasing their engineering solutions and innovation in a dynamic university environment.
UWTSD’s Swansea Waterfront campus is home to a growing digital and innovation community, and the university continues to work closely with schools, colleges, and industry partners to widen participation in STEM subjects and address the UK’s skills gap.
Dr Kapilan Radhakrishnan, Academic director of Applied Computing said: “Automation, artificial intelligence and digital technologies are transforming the world at an unprecedented pace, and universities have a responsibility to play an active role in preparing the next generation for that future.
“Hosting the FIRST Tech Challenge at our Swansea Waterfront campus is about inspiring confidence, creativity, and ambition in young people, and showing them how STEM skills connect directly to real-world careers. We’re proud to provide a space where education, industry and innovation come together to help young people become truly future-ready.”
Further Information
Rebecca Davies
Executive Press and Media Relations Officer
Corporate Communications and PR
Email: rebecca.davies@uwtsd.ac.uk
Phone: 07384 467071