Kettering University will host hundreds of high school students and their families the last weekend in February for the Consumers Energy and Kettering University Michigan VEX Robotics Competition (VRC) High School State Championship.

Teams start setting up Friday, Feb. 23, in the Connie and Jim John Recreation Center at Kettering University. The competition begins with opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, and concludes with an awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m. 

“Kettering University is proud to host and sponsor this event,” said Kim Shumaker, Robotics Center and Robotics Outreach Director. “These students are outpacing their peers as a result of their involvement with the VEX robotics program. They have already developed problem-solving, critical-thinking, strategy and engineering skills as a pre-college student. We’re thrilled for Kettering to play a part in championing these students to pursue their passion for robotics.”

This is the third year Kettering University has hosted the VEX State Championship and its second in collaboration with Consumers Energy as the title sponsor.

“Consumers Energy is thrilled to join Kettering University to promote and support robotics teams from across Michigan this weekend,” said Greg Salisbury, Consumers Energy’s Vice President of Electric Distribution Engineering. “The VEX championship is important because it extends a pathway to STEM learning that’s exciting and compelling, charging up bright futures for so many students who will go on to power our company and all of Michigan.”

Nearly 400 students from 80 teams will participate in this year’s competition, called Over Under.

In Over Under, the field has 60 triballs, two goals and two sets of elevation bars with a barrier. Triballs score points in goals (5 points) or offensive zones (2 points). Robots move freely, and triballs can only be taken from opponent goals when both alliance robots are on the same side of the barrier ("double zoned.")

Robots aim to climb for points, with the highest climber earning 20 points and points stairstepping down to 15, 10 and 5 points for second, third and fourth place, respectively. Alliances scoring the most in the autonomous period gain an extra 8 points and can earn an Autonomous Win Point through specific actions. The alliance with the most points wins.

The top 20 to 30 teams will advance to the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas.

Kettering organizes VEX competitions in partnership with the non-profit Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation, an educational foundation with a mission to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

“This season's game challenge rewards the teams that best collaborate with their partners during a match,” said Dan Mantz, a 1991 Kettering alumnus and Chief Executive Officer of the REC Foundation. “The REC Foundation works to prepare our students for the workforce by not only teaching technical skills such as engineering, design and coding but also emphasizing communication, critical thinking and teamwork skills.” 

Kettering University has hosted VEX camps and workshops since 2015 and boasts its own VEX U team that debuted in the World Championship in 2023. Scholarships are available for students who are active competitors or mentors of VEX or other competitive robotics organizations. Students can earn up to $5,000 yearly (up to $25,000 over five years) in renewable scholarships.

“The REC Foundation values our partnership with Kettering University since our missions are perfectly aligned to prepare our students to be leaders in technology and business development,” Mantz said. “When students in our programs visit Kettering University, they experience the innovative and leading-edge campus learning centers and labs firsthand and understand that the Kettering programs will build on what they have learned through the VEX Robotics competition. We want these students to know that Kettering will help prepare them for the next phase of their education and career.”

To learn more about this year's Consumers Energy & Kettering University Michigan VRC HS State Championship, click here.