Essay

REBUILT — Reimagining Solutions in Our Community

The 2026 FIRST Robotics Competition theme, REBUILT, challenges students to look at what already exists and imagine how it could be repurposed, improved, or rebuilt to solve real problems. Engineering is not only about creating new machines; it is about understanding systems, resources, and people, and using STEM to create meaningful change.

Your task:

Identify a problem or challenge within your community. Your community may be defined at any scale, including your school, neighborhood, town, state, or even the nation. This problem should be something that needs to be fixed, improved, or redesigned rather than completely replaced. In your essay, explore how this challenge could be addressed by modernizing, rebuilding, or repurposing to extend the lifecycle of existing resources.

1. The Problem
   • Clearly describe the problem you have identified.
   • Who is affected by this issue, and why does it matter to your community?
2. Rebuilding What Already Exists
   • What resources already exist that could be reused, repurposed, or rebuilt to help address this problem?
     • These may include physical infrastructure, technology, data, programs, skills within the community, or existing organizations.
   • Explain how these resources could be adapted rather than discarded.
3. Technical Resources and STEM Skills
   • What technical resources would be needed to support your solution?
     • Consider equipment, engineering or technical skills, software, data, scientific knowledge, or training.
   • Which STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, math) play a role in your approach?
4. More Than a Robot: Funding and Stakeholders
   • Engineering solutions require more than technical design.
     • Who might need to fund or financially support this effort (for example: schools, local government, businesses, nonprofits, or grants)?
     • Who are the key stakeholders involved—those who would benefit from, support, manage, or be impacted by this solution?
5. Community Support
   • How could your community contribute to making this solution successful?
     • Consider partnerships, volunteer efforts, education, public awareness, or policy support.
   • Why is community involvement important to the long‑term success of your solution?

Requirements

• Up to 1000 words in length.
• Applicants must write the essay.
• Essays must not be written by AI tools. We reserve the right to reject any essays written using AI tools.