The International Robotics Trophy Robotor promotes science and technology among the primary and secondary school students, girls and boys, and among the general public, through robotics competitions.
Robotics integrates knowledge, and skills from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math fields, and prepares the young people both for life and labour market. The contests proved to be one of the best way to develop the robotics activities at pre university level. The success of local robotics competitions organized by Mihai Agape in 2007 at Clubul Copiilor Orsova (former name of Orsova Subsidiary) led him to start Robotics Trophy Robotor, which was the first Romanian robotics competition for primary and secondary school students. There are two events: robotics competition and symposium.
Robotor has been included yearly, since 2008, in the Educational Activities’ Calendar of the Romanian Ministry of Education as regional, national, or international project. There were organized a regional edition (2008), five national editions (2009, 2010, and 2012 – 2014), and six international (2011, and 2015 – 2019). The editions 2013 and 2014 were organized in cooperation with Palatul Copiilor Botoșani. The editions 2018 and 2019 were organized in cooperation with Şcoala Gimnazială nr. 11 „Șt. O. Iosif” Brașov and Colegiul Național de Informatică Grigore Moisil. In international editions there were participants from Poland, Turkey, France, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal, North Macedonia, Republic of Modova, and Romania.
From one edition to the next edition of Robotor, the robotics contests diversified, and the organization improved. The initiator of the Robotor trophy supported the launch of similar robotics competitions (e.g. the “Cupa Chindiei” in 2010). Even though there are more pre-university robotics competitions currently, the Robotor trophy still remains unique through the number of contests, the originality of some contests, and the rules which stimulates the robots construction from scratch.