University, high school & middle school students from Canada, China and the United States brought home trophies at this year's VEX Robotics Competition & VEX U World Championships

LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation crowned the VEX Robotics Competition (VRC) Middle School and High School World Champions, as well as the VEX U College World Champion winners at VEX Worlds 2018. Teams from Canada, China and the United States brought home trophies for their achievements in robotics education including computational thinking, teamwork and coding.

"The VEX Robotics World Championship is a thrilling experience for everyone involved, from students competing to teachers, mentors, volunteers and spectators. Year-over-year we continue to see students from around the world raise the bar not only in their STEM capabilities, but also their teamwork and energy during the competition," said Dan Mantz, CEO and chairman of the board of the REC Foundation. "It's experiences like this that prepare students with the skills necessary to meet the needs of tomorrow's workforce."

2018 World Champions include:

Excellence Award

Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools robotics program (VRC team 1375) in Flint, MI
Davis High School (VRC team 2131) in Kaysville, UT
Xi'an Jiao Tong University (VEX U team XJTU) in Xi'an, China
VEX Robotics Competition Tournament Champions

Xiamen Haicang School attached to BNU (VRC middle school team 7617B) in Xiamen, China
Chengdu Shishi Middle School (VRC middle school team 7792B) in Chengdu, Sichuan, China
E-Bots Robotics program (VRC high school team 5225A) in Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Shanghai Foreign Language School (VRC high school team 8825S) in Shanghai, China
Xi'an Jiao Tong University (VEX U team XJTU4) in Xi'an, China
Robot Skills World Champions

Foshan Nanhai Yanbu Middle School (VRC team 7090A) in Foshon, Gaundong, China
E-Bots Robotics program (VRC high school team 5225A) in Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Xi'an Jiao Tong University (VEX U team XJTU4) in Xi'an, China
Over 30,000 people including 1,600 teams from 30 nations have converged on Louisville, KY for the 11th annual VEX Robotics World Championship. The week-long celebration of STEM, diversity and robotics continues with the VEX IQ Challenge from Sunday, April 29 - Tuesday, May 1.

"While the VEX Robotics World Championship may culminate in the crowning of champions, our time here in Louisville is about so much more than that," said Paul Copioli, president of VEX Robotics. "This week we're honoring the incredible work of the students competing, the teachers and coaches that dedicate their time towards their team's year-long development and most importantly the collaboration, diversity and love for STEM that molds the robotics community."

The four-day competition culminated with the unveil of the new game, 2018-19 VEX Robotics Competition Turning Point. Students will have a year to design a robot to play the game, which is now available at http://www.vexrobotics.com/vexedr/competition.

The event is presented by the REC Foundation and the Northrop Grumman Foundation, and is sponsored by Autodesk, Dell, NASA, Google, Texas Instruments, TVA, HEXBUG, Robomatter, Rack Solutions and Innovation First International. For more information, please visit http://www.vexworlds.com.

About the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work. For more information, please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org or for details on upcoming events, please visit www.RobotEvents.com.

About VEX Robotics
VEX Robotics is a leading provider of educational and competitive robotics products to schools, universities and robotics teams around the world. The VEX IQ and VEX EDR product lines span elementary, middle, and high schools with accessible, scalable, and affordable robotics solutions. Beyond science and engineering principles, a VEX Robotics project encourages teamwork, leadership and problem solving among groups. It allows educators to easily customize projects to meet the level of students' abilities as they inspire & prepare the STEM problem-solvers of tomorrow.