ISMAR and Max Planck Institute (Villorba): a successful educational collaboration rewarded at the First Lego League World Championship
Council (CNR-ISMAR) and the Max Planck Institute in Villorba enabled a group of high school students to distinguish themselves on the international stage, winning three first-place awards at the 2025 First Lego League World Final, held in Corinth (Greece) from May 2nd to 4th.
Throughout the academic year, students from the technical and scientific tracks worked closely with ISMAR researchers to design an innovative system for monitoring the marine environment. The project, presented at the competition alongside an autonomous Lego robot, involved the use of environmental sensors installed on floating buoys capable of collecting data on temperature, pH, and CO₂ concentration. These sensors, powered by solar energy or wave motion, transmit real-time data via LoRa technology to a central hub connected to the platform www.seasense.it.
This experience gave students the opportunity to apply their STEM knowledge in a practical context and to engage with current scientific issues related to operational oceanography. Under the guidance of Professor Monica Disarò and tutor Marco Todesco, the team effectively communicated their technical and scientific solutions in English, earning first place in the robotics challenge, the Engineering Excellence Award, and first place in the social media challenge.
This collaboration stands as a successful example of synergy between the research community and secondary schools, and highlights CNR-ISMAR’s commitment to science outreach and to supporting the education of future generations of researchers and innovators.
It also brought applied science into the classroom, thanks to the active involvement of ISMAR researchers in providing technical and scientific mentoring.
🔗 Learn more: Max Planck News
