For six consecutive years, the FIRST LEGO League Challenge program has been successfully implemented in Serbia, thanks to the dedicated efforts of the “Prava Priča” Association and their partner organization from Slovenia, “Super Glavce.”. This season, the final event brought together 18 exceptional teams and was held on February 22, 2026, in Kragujevac. The event was hosted by First Technical School

The FIRST LEGO League Challenge program is based on four key components that are evaluated equally: Robot Game, Robot Design, Innovation Project, and Core Values. Each of these areas gives teams the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, creativity, and teamwork from different perspectives.

As part of the Robot Game, the teams’ task is to design, build, and program a robot to successfully complete missions on a specially designed competition mat. During the tournament, each team has three attempts, each lasting two and a half minutes, to achieve the best possible score. After all rounds are completed, only the team’s highest score is counted, and the winner is the team with the most points.

In the Robot Design category, judges evaluate how functionally and thoughtfully the team developed their robot—from the construction itself and mission strategy to the way the children explained their workflow. Special attention is given to programming logic, teamwork, and the innovative solutions they implemented.

The Innovation Project is a vital segment of every FLL season. During months of preparation, teams research a specific real-world problem and develop creative, sustainable solutions that can contribute to the improvement of their community. This year’s theme, UNEARTHED, directed participants toward researching and preserving archaeological heritage, encouraging them to consider how modern technologies can contribute to discovering, protecting, and presenting traces of the past. Through their presentations, teams showcased the entire workflow—from initial research and interviews with experts to developing and testing ideas, and finally presenting their solutions to a target audience.

Core Values represent the heart of everything FIRST LEGO League promotes—discovery, innovation, inclusion, teamwork, impact, and fun. They are not just an evaluation criterion, but a principle that connects all participants and shapes the entire competition experience. Special value is placed on how the children support one another, collaborate with mentors, interact with other teams, and contribute to a positive atmosphere in the spirit of respect, fair play, and shared learning.

Team spirit, innovation, inclusiveness, a research-oriented approach, positive impact, and the joy the children demonstrated throughout the program were all recognized and rewarded with medals and certificates of appreciation for all participants.

Based on their overall engagement in all four areas of the FIRST LEGO League Challenge program—Robot Game, Robot Design, Innovation Project, and Core Values—one team stood out and earned the title of Challenge Program Champion in Serbia for the 2025/26 season. That team is “AION” from the First Gymnasium of Kragujevac.

With their great success at the competition, three teams secured their placement in the Adria Region Finals, which will be held on March 14 in Slovenia. These teams are: “AION” from the First Gymnasium of Kragujevac, “Roboroots” from the First Technical High School, and “ArheoLEGO” from Raška Gymnasium.

Throughout the day, one team stood out in each area of the program and was awarded a trophy in that category.

The best result in the Robot Game was achieved by team “AION” from the First Gymnasium of Kragujevac, whose robot demonstrated exceptional precision and tactical efficiency, earning the highest number of points. The Best Robot Design award was given to team “Noobovi 2.0” from Digi Klinci in Belgrade, who managed to convey a clear flow of thinking, planning, and programming alongside technical sophistication. The most inspiring Innovation Project solution belonged to team “Delicious Bricks” from Digi Klinci in Belgrade, who fully met the challenges of the UNEARTHED theme and creatively connected art, technology, and the community. The most outstanding Core Values were demonstrated by team “ArheoLEGO” from Raška Gymnasium, which became a true ambassador of the FIRST LEGO League program values through their behavior, mutual respect, and openness toward others.

The “NajŠtand” (Best Booth) award was also presented, recognizing the team that showcased their work, the season’s theme, and the program’s values in a particularly imaginative and inclusive way—all through interaction with other teams and festival visitors. The trophy for this award went to team “Lego Kings Junior” from “Kralj Aleksandar I” Elementary School in Požarevac. The prestigious “Rising Star” title was earned by team “Bot D (Best of the Despot)” from “Despot Stefan Lazarević” elementary school in Belgrade, as the judges noted great potential in this team and high achievements are expected from them in the future. For the first time, a team was nominated by their peers for the “Peer Award,” which embodies collaboration, cooperation, and Gracious Professionalism. That team is “ArheoLEGO” from Raška Gymnasium.

As in previous seasons, this year as well the team of judges and reviewers closely observed every aspect of the teams’ work, recognizing the effort, knowledge, and creativity they had invested over the course of many months.

To ensure every mission in the Robot Game was precisely recorded and fairly judged, the task was carried out by Pavle Novaković, Vasil Milenković, Teodora Milošević, and Mihailo Miletić, led by experienced Head Referee Mihailo Šundović.

The evaluation of Innovation Projects was entrusted to an expert team that carefully listened to and assessed the ideas, identified problems, and designed solutions—Branislava Šandrih Todorović, Nikola Obradović, Živana Luković, Mirko Spasojević, Vuk Ninić, and Svetlana Rajačić.

Anđela Jović, Milica Stojanović, Marijana Jovanović Čabrić, Ivan Miletić, and Viktor Branković dedicatedly assessed how the Core Values were reflected in the behavior, communication, and team dynamics of each squad, carefully noting moments of cooperation, support, and mutual respect among the participants.

Special attention was focused on the way participants programmed the robot, developed its design, and devised strategies for solving missions. These elements were carefully evaluated by Milan Simić, Nemanja Kandić, Ivan Paunović, and Đorđe Panin.

The coordination of this dedicated team was ensured by Ljubica Mudrić Staniškovski, the Judge Advisor of the FIRST LEGO League program in Serbia. Her role was crucial for the consistency, fairness, and positive atmosphere of the entire evaluation process.