For McMaster Engineering students, hosting FIRST Robotics isn’t just an event; it’s a homecoming. Many were first introduced to engineering through the program as high school students and now find themselves back on the competition floor as mentors, referees and event volunteers helping guide the next generation.
That sense of continuity was on full display as McMaster University hosted one of the largest regional FIRST Robotics Competition in Canada for the seventh time, welcoming high school teams and their supporters from across Ontario, and one team from Michigan.
For McMaster Engineering students who once built robots in school gyms, the return to FIRST feels like a natural progression. Early exposure to hands-on design, teamwork and problem-solving often shapes their decision to pursue engineering, a pathway the Faculty of Engineering actively supports through outreach, scholarships – including the McMaster Engineering FIRST Robotics Entrance Scholarship – and experiential learning opportunities.
“FIRST is a really fun environment for learning the basics of engineering,” says Luca Iacovelli, an Electrical Engineering student and McMaster Engineering FIRST Robotics Entrance Scholarship recipient. “You’re constantly problem-solving, and you come up against a lot of challenges. That doesn’t change when you’re in Mac Eng — you just learn how to overcome them better. It’s the most important skill you can pick up.”
Those high school robotics experiences translate directly into the classroom. Zeyad Nasr, a first-year Engineering student who is also a McMaster Engineering FIRST Robotics Entrance Scholarship recipient, says the program helped prepare him for McMaster’s project based, common first-year curriculum.
“In FIRST you learn the integrated process of prototyping and designing mechanisms,” he says. “In first year, as part of the Engineering 1 program you have a full year project-based course where you’re building solutions to real scenarios. Being on a FIRST team really helps prepare you for that experience.”
Robin Lewis, a Civil Engineering and Society student, notices a clear parallels between FIRST Robotics and McMaster Engineering — particularly in the sense of community. They say receiving a FIRST Scholarship helped them dive head‑first into their degree, providing clarity during the transition into first year.
“It’s a new and exciting experience, and there’s a lot to take in,” they said. “The scholarship took some pressure off financially and motivated me to focus on figuring out what I wanted to get out of my engineering degree and which second-year program to pursue.”
Once on campus, many students continue building on their robotics interests through extracurricular teams and design projects. For Laaibah Iqbal, a Mechatronics Engineering student and McMaster Engineering FIRST Robotics Entrance Scholarship recipient, that meant joining McMaster’s Mars Rover team.
“It’s like the university version of FIRST,” she says. “We design the rover in SolidWorks, build the electrical components and test everything ourselves. We compete in Alberta, where each system is challenged — just like in FIRST.”
The Faculty of Engineering finds this progression from FIRST to McMaster academics as more than coincidence. By supporting FIRST Robotics events and student involvement, McMaster helps sustain an ecosystem that encourages curiosity, builds confidence and opens doors to STEM for students from diverse backgrounds.