The FIRST^® community is fortunate to have many dedicated and inspirational teachers who give their time and support to FIRST year after year. This Teacher Appreciation Week, we are proud to announce fifteen outstanding Inspire the Future: FIRST Educators Recognition Program honorees, selected from nominations made by the global FIRST community.  

Read about the 2023 FIRST Educators Recognition Program honorees >>

In April, approximately 50,000 people from around the world came together as hundreds of student robotics teams put their innovation, teamwork, and robotics skills to the test at the 2023 FIRST Championship presented by BAE Systems in Houston. “I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to all the families, friends, and spectators who cheered on these amazingly talented young people,” said FIRST CEO Chris Moore. “Together, we are showing our support for outstanding students who embody the FIRST mission and core values.” 

Watch some FIRST Championship highlights on Instagram and YouTube and read more about the results in our press room >>

We’re thrilled to draw back the curtain for our 2023-2024 arts-inspired robotics season, FIRST^® IN SHOW^SM presented by Qualcomm. We’re shining a spotlight on the roles our STEM skills play in the arts and empowering young people to design and build a world of endless possibilities. Social media graphics, posters, and more downloadable content are available on our free season content page.  

Watch an inspiring tour of what’s ahead for FIRST IN SHOW, which opens for registration May 17 in the FIRST Dashboard >> 

Help celebrate the Class of 2023 on FIRST Signing Day, run by 2468 Team Appreciate on May 17, 2023. On this day, @first_official_ on Instagram will be sharing teams around the world celebrating their seniors. You can also shop from our Alumni and Grad Collection in the FIRST Store for great gifts for grads to celebrate their time spent on a FIRST team – and welcome them as FIRST alumni. 

Follow @first_official_ and team-run @firstsigningday on Instagram to stay up to date on FIRST Signing Day >> 

FIRST^® Tech Challenge team “BSRC Mad About Robotics” formed a team for visually impaired students at Niwant Blind School in Pune, India, giving them the opportunity to learn STEAM and robotics for the first time. The teams worked tirelessly together for three months so that the Niwant Blind School team could compete at the 2019-2020 FIRST Tech Challenge India National Championship, where Niwant took home the Pathbreaking Journey Judge’s Award. “I am now more confident than before about my dream of becoming a software engineer,” said Niwant student Gaurav, adding “Having been part of a FIRST team, I now want to teach other students like me how to program robots.” 

Read more about the collaboration between these two inspiring teams >>