What Is the FLL LEGO Robotics Competition? The Best Engineer-Thinking Training for Kids in the AI Era

AI writes code better every year, and many parents are asking: will what my child learns today still matter in ten years?

Our answer: tomorrow, your child won't necessarily need to code better than AI — but they will need to judge: which problems are worth solving, and whether an answer is actually valid. The FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is one of the best places to train exactly that.

What is FLL?

FLL is a global youth robotics competition run by FIRST. The Challenge division is for ages 9–16. Each season has a theme: the 2026–2027 season is BIOGLOW, all about ecosystems, biodiversity, and nature conservation — both the robot missions and the Innovation Project follow this theme.

And it's not a race to see who builds fastest. The final score has four equally weighted parts:

- Robot Game (25%): in 2 minutes 30 seconds, the robot completes missions autonomously

- Robot Design (25%): presenting the structure, attachments, code, and testing process to judges

- Innovation Project (25%): researching a real-world problem, proposing a solution, building a prototype

- Core Values (25%): teamwork, inclusion, innovative spirit

Note: the robot's score counts for only one quarter. Being able to explain "why we designed it this way, what failed during testing, how we improved it" matters more than how many points the robot scored.

What it really gives your child

1. Engineering thinking: break a big problem down, then assemble a reliable system

This is the most valuable part of FLL. Kids live through a complete engineering cycle: break missions down → solve by module (mechanics, code, sensors, routes) → test each module separately → integrate everything into a full 2:30 strategy. Every mission has countless possible approaches, and kids must trade off points, difficulty, time, and reliability — a real engineering problem isn't "can it be done," it's "which approach is the most reliable, the simplest, the most worthwhile."

2. The rarest skill in the AI era: defining the problem

AI can code, look things up, and propose solutions. But the Innovation Project requires kids to discover a real problem themselves, do research and interviews, bring evidence, build a prototype, then iterate on feedback. AI can help, but "what question to ask, which answer to trust" — that's the child's call.

3. From exercises to projects

At school there is usually a right answer; in FLL there are only open questions. No single solution: test, fail, improve. The judges' six favorite questions: why this problem? What evidence did you gather? Why this attachment? What failed during testing? How did you improve it? Who contributed what? — you can't memorize a script; you have to truly understand.

4. Presentation and performing under pressure

5 minutes of presentation + 5 minutes of Q&A, and judges can question any team member. Everyone must understand the whole project. That experience of being grilled with follow-up questions can't be learned in a classroom.

5. Teamwork

Everyone has a main responsibility (structure, programming, strategy, research, presentation…), but everyone understands the whole picture. As our coach puts it: everyone has "their part," and everyone can answer "why we did it this way."

An honest note

FLL gives no official bonus points for private school admissions. But it is one of the best application assets there is: a real project to write about, a deep experience to discuss in interviews. Between "I did robotics" and "I led a real environmental project through three prototype iterations" — there is no comparison.

Best E Tutor's BIOGLOW 2026–2027 Competition Team

Our team holds its first training session on October 17, about 2 hours per week normally, with intensive sessions before the competition. Our coaching team is led by a PhD in electrical engineering (UBC), supported by a computer engineering teaching assistant (McGill) — the coach's role is not to do it for the kids, but to guide them with questions and feedback so they find the solutions themselves.

Saturday, September 26, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM, we are holding a free info session in English at our classroom (8500 Bd Décarie, 3rd floor, Mont-Royal): full details on the BIOGLOW season, how the team works, and fees. Parents and kids are welcome. Book a trial class and come see whether your child enjoys it.

Best E Tutor 夺魁教育 · Mont-Royal classroom + online courses / Contact: beststemmtl@gmail.com