WATCH Young Innovators Shine at 10th Annual Analog Devices Robotics Competition

The overall winners from this STEM-inspired challenge held at the Analog Devices Campus in Raheen, Limerick, were Liam Collins, Freya Smith and Oisin O’Connnor students from Killoughteen National School ,Newcasttle West, Limerick , who secured the title of the 2025 Analog Devices Primary School Robotics Champions. Pic. Brian Arthur

Students from Killoughteen N.S. Crowned the 2025 Analog Devices Primary School Robotics Champions as the 10th annual competition welcomed 280 students from 80 schools

More than 100 primary school students went to battle with their custom-designed sumo wrestling robots at the 10th annual Analog Devices Primary Schools Robotics Competition Final this weekend.

The overall winners from this STEM-inspired challenge held at the Analog Devices Campus in Raheen, Limerick, were students from Killoughteen National School, Newcastle West, Limerick, who secured the title of the 2025 Analog Devices Primary School Robotics Champions.

Following two days of exciting semi-finals on 20th and 21st March, which saw participation from 280 students from 80 primary schools across Munster, the top 32 schools advanced to the grand finale. The selected schools included 19 from Limerick, 6 from Clare, 5 from Tipperary, and 2 from North Cork.

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Teams comprising 5th and 6th class students from these schools gathered early on Saturday morning to construct and program their robotic creations. Each team collected points for teamwork, design, and innovation as well as creativity in the poster showcase. The afternoon saw the culmination of their efforts as the robots entered the ring for a sumo-style showdown. Parents, teachers, and friends cheered on the children during the highly competitive finale, where additional points were awarded for wins and draws in both the pool stages and throughout the highly competitive knockouts.

Following an intense competition between, Liam Collins, Freya Smith and Oisin O’Connor, from Killoughteen N.S. emerged as the overall winners, while Cian O’Donoghue, Alex Clancy and Tommy Hayes from St Joseph’s N.S. Ballybrown secured the runners-up position.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the competition, which has grown significantly since its inception. For the first time, the programme expanded beyond Limerick, welcoming schools from across Munster to engage in the popular hands-on STEM learning and friendly competition.

The competition kicked off in January, with participating schools receiving complimentary robotics workshops, where creativity, teamwork, and a passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) were encouraged.

Fiona Treacy, Managing Director, Industrial Automation at Analog Devices, announced the winners, stating, “Analog Devices is delighted with how our Primary School Robotics Competition has evolved as we continue to champion STEM education.

“With 2,240 students from across Munster taking part this year, it has been incredible to witness their enthusiasm, problem-solving abilities, and teamwork. Developing young minds and providing them with opportunities to explore the fascinating field of robotics will hopefully inspire the next generation of engineers and innovators.”

In the lead-up to competition day, Analog Devices partnered with LearnIt to deliver complimentary robotics workshops to all registered primary schools. Over the past ten years, Analog Devices has enabled nearly 9,000 students to take part in these workshops, where they learn to build and program a robot using LEGO kits.

The competition day started with an advanced robotics workshop, building on the foundational skills from the classroom sessions. This time, students faced a new challenge: to design and program robots for 1-vs-1 battles. In the afternoon, teams competed in pool stages, with top performers advancing to thrilling playoffs, where final points determined the winners.

Previous champions include Scoil Íde (2015), St Patrick’s Girls NS (2016), Our Lady Queen of Peace NS (2017), Killoughteen NS (2018), Scoil Mhuire Broadford (2019& 2023), St Patricks N.S Bruree (2020) and St Patrick’s National School, Dublin Road (2022 & 2024)