On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, the Faculty of Engineering in Rijeka welcomed the Crobotics #7201 team from the Andrija Mohorovičić Gymnasium for a well-attended presentation. During the event, team members gave a live demonstration of their award-winning robot and shared an extraordinary story of teamwork and perseverance.
The event was opened by the Faculty’s Vice-Dean for Projects and Promotion, Assoc. Prof. Sunčana Smokvina Hanza, PhD, who spoke about the vital role of collaboration between secondary and higher education in nurturing young STEM talent. The students were joined by their long-standing mentors, teachers Patricija Nikolaus and Goran Boneta, who have guided the team since its inception.
Third place represents the highest achievement in the Crobotics team’s history, surpassing their already impressive fifth-place finish in Istanbul three years ago. Yet, what truly sets this result apart are the extraordinary circumstances surrounding it. The Rijeka students went up against teams backed by massive budgets and the resources of major technology corporations and institutions, including NASA—and still came out on the podium. The journey there, however, was anything but smooth.
“Our robot got held up at US customs right from the start. We had to kick off the competition using borrowed equipment, racing to reassemble our own robot in the final minutes before the matches began. And as if that wasn’t enough, a fire broke out at the school where we were staying,” the team members revealed.
During the presentation, attendees also had the chance to watch footage from the competition and see firsthand what the robot is capable of—an autonomous machine designed to collect and launch balls with precision. The Faculty of Engineering played a key role in the robot’s development and technical preparation, showcasing the Faculty’s broader commitment to supporting STEM excellence among young people well before they set foot in a university lecture hall.
The Crobotics team was founded in 2017 at the initiative of the gymnasium students themselves, under the mentorship of teachers Patricija Nikolaus and Goran Boneta. Since then, the team has achieved impressive results at various competitions, continuing to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.
