Thirty-four teams from junior high and high schools from Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island will compete in the 2025 Regional Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Competition from May 2-3.

The MATE ROV competition is an underwater robotics challenge that engages a global community of learners each year. MATE’s mission is to inspire and challenge students to learn and creatively apply STEM skills to solve real-world problems and strengthen their critical thinking, collaboration, entrepreneurship and innovation, preparing them for the blue economy workforce.

The event will take place at the Marine Institute (MI) campus in St. John’s.

Teams are required to design and construct an ROV that must complete a series of tasks while deployed in MI’s flume tank. This year’s competition recognizes the National Science Foundation-funded GO-BGC Project by assigning tasks focused on solutions designed to monitor circulation, chemistry, biology and overall ocean health.

Students will focus on measuring and identifying shipwrecks and collecting eDNA data of invasive marine species.

The competition challenges teams to build an ROV with the necessary tools and technology to monitor ocean conditions, understand marine ecosystems and document the impacts of climate change.

The schedule for Scout (junior high) and Ranger (high school) competitions follows below.

Friday, May 2

• 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.: Scout competition
• 5:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m.: Scout awards presentation and closing ceremony
• 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.: Ranger opening ceremonies

Saturday, May 3

• 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.: Ranger competition
• 7:30 p.m.: Ranger awards ceremony