Education
PHOTOS MIC and Dell Robotics Programme brings STEM learning to life for Primary School Students
The 2026 annual MIC and Dell VEX Robotics programme took place at Dell Technologies Limerick on Thursday, January 29, 2026 and provides a platform for Limerick primary school pupils to showcase their skills in designing, building, and coding robots. Picture: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick
Dell Technologies Limerick recently hosted the 2026 annual MIC and Dell VEX Robotics Competition, welcoming over 400 primary school students and their teachers from 23 schools across Limerick, Clare, and Tipperary
Delivered in partnership with Mary Immaculate College (MIC), the Mid-West VEX IQ Regional Final gives young learners the opportunity to showcase their robot which they had spent months designing, building and coding. Teams competed in robot skills and teamwork challenges, working collaboratively to solve problems and score points.
There were five awards given out on the day. Gaelscoil an Ráithín, Limerick, won the Excellence Award. They also won the Teamwork Champion Award with Kilruane Koders from Kilruane National School, Tipperary. The Design Award went to Kilcornan National School, Limerick. The Robot Skills Champion was also won by Gaelscoil an Ráithín and finally, the Judges Award went to the RóbóCAT team from Gaelscoil Chaladh an Treoigh, Limerick.
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Speaking about the impact of the MIC Dell VEX Robotics programme, Dr Eleanor Walsh, STEM Outreach Manager, CRAFT in Enterprise and Community Engagement (E&CE) at MIC, said, “The VEX IQ Robotics programme gives a class the opportunity to turn small pieces and their own designs into a fully functioning robot, supported and guided by their teachers. I’m very impressed with how teachers are weaving the technical, creative and social skills associated with this, into their everyday classroom and school activities. It’s so great to see the children begin to see themselves as smart, problem-solvers, innovators, developing skills and mindsets that go far beyond robotics and can enrich all aspects of their learning.”
From September to December, staff from Dell Technologies and MIC work closely with pupils and teachers, mentoring teams in the classroom and organising practice ‘scrimmages’. MIC also delivers a robotics summer course for teachers, supporting the integration of robotics and computational thinking into primary curriculum.
The collaboration with Dell on the VEX Robotics competition is one of many Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) outreach initiatives delivered under the CRAFT Maker Space initiative at MIC, which engaged more than 54,000 participants across 2024 and 2025 through hands-on workshops, teacher professional development and public events. This work is supported by strong partnerships with schools, communities and industry, with funding from Research Ireland, the Department of Education and Youth and the Irish American Partnership.
Reflecting on the wider role of CRAFT within MIC’S STEM outreach Dr Maeve Liston, Director of E&CE at MIC, said, “Our strategy at MIC is firmly future‑orientated, grounded in the concept of childhood futures and the understanding that children’s voices will shape our future world. CRAFT is central to how MIC advances this vision. Through this robotics initiative, and through the many STEAM, entrepreneurship, and leadership outreach activities we deliver each year, we are providing the younger generation with meaningful opportunities to design and prototype solutions to real‑world challenges. In doing so, they are developing leadership, creativity, digital innovation, and a deep sense of social responsibility.”
The qualifying teams from the regional competition will advance to the national VEX IQ finals on May 25 in MTU Cork, with the world finals taking place in Dallas, Texas from the 12 to 14 May.
To find out more about the Dell VEX Robotics Competition or to register for next year’s programme, visit here
For more information on the CRAFT Maker Space initiative at MIC, visit here
Pictures: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick
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