Melbourne RoboCats
Melbourne RoboCats – Supporting the Future of FIRST Robotics in Sri Lanka
We are proud to welcome Melbourne RoboCats as a key sponsor and supporter of Sri Lanka FIRST Robotics.
Melbourne RoboCats is an award-winning, community-based FIRST Robotics organisation from Melbourne, Australia, with a strong commitment to inspiring and empowering the next generation through STEM, robotics, innovation and leadership. Founded in 2014, Melbourne RoboCats 5648 is an all-female FIRST Robotics Competition team that brings together young people from across Melbourne to design, build and program competition robots while developing valuable skills in engineering, technology, teamwork, communication and leadership.
Their support of Sri Lanka FIRST Robotics represents something much bigger than sponsorship. It is a commitment to building connections between young innovators across borders and creating greater access to the FIRST experience.
Through their involvement, Melbourne RoboCats brings the spirit of Gracious Professionalism®, collaboration and knowledge-sharing that lies at the heart of FIRST. Their experience in competitive robotics, community outreach and STEM education provides an inspiring example for emerging robotics teams and students in Sri Lanka.
Melbourne RoboCats has demonstrated that robotics is about much more than building a robot. It is about giving young people the confidence to solve problems, learn from failure, work as a team, take on leadership roles and believe that they can create solutions for the future. Their own mission focuses on making STEM accessible and empowering young people—particularly girls and young women—to pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
Their support also reflects the truly global nature of FIRST. Melbourne RoboCats has competed alongside teams from Australia and across the Asia-Pacific region, as well as at the FIRST Robotics Competition World Championship in Houston.
For Sri Lanka, partnerships such as this create opportunities to connect local students with the wider international FIRST community, exchange knowledge and experiences, and encourage more young people to discover robotics and STEM.
We are incredibly grateful to Melbourne RoboCats for believing in the potential of Sri Lankan students and for helping us build a stronger, more connected robotics community.
Together, we are not just building robots. We are building skills, confidence, friendships and the next generation of innovators.
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AWARDS
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Outreach & Exhibitions
2026 F1 Australian Grand Prix
Melbourne RoboCats proudly represented youth in STEM at the 2026 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, bringing the excitement of robotics and engineering to one of Melbourne’s biggest international sporting events. The team showcased FIRST Robotics and live robot demonstrations, highlighting the creativity, engineering, coding, teamwork and leadership skills developed through competitive robotics.
Their presence at the Australian Grand Prix demonstrates how motorsport, engineering and robotics can inspire the next generation of innovators, while creating opportunities for young people—especially girls and young women—to see themselves in STEM careers.
For Melbourne RoboCats, the Grand Prix was more than a showcase; it was an opportunity to share the power of STEM with a global audience and inspire young people to dream big, build boldly and innovate for the future.
FORD Australia’s 100-Year Celebration
On April 4th, 2025 the Melbourne RoboCats were honoured to be invited to Ford Australia’s 100-Year Celebration, commemorating a century of the company’s operations in Australia.
We are incredibly grateful to the Ford STEM Team for including us in this historic event. It was an inspiring opportunity to showcase the incredible work Ford is doing to support STEM initiatives in Australia—particularly through their ongoing support of the Melbourne RoboCats and our mission to empower future female leaders in STEM.
One of the highlights of the day was the chance to meet the President and Vice-President of Ford Philanthropy. These valuable conversations served as a catalyst for future collaboration, as the RoboCats and the Monash Nova Rover Team explored opportunities to co-host workshops and engage in cross-team STEM initiatives. We’re excited about the potential of working together to promote innovation, hands-on learning, and mentorship across the STEM community.
Events like this reaffirm our mission and highlight the powerful impact of our partnership with Ford in supporting and inspiring young people on their journey into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix
The Melbourne RoboCats have had a truly rewarding year, filled with impactful outreach and meaningful community engagement. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunities we’ve been given to share our passion for STEM and robotics.
From March 13th to 16th, 2024, Team 5648 – Melbourne RoboCats – proudly exhibited at the F1 Australian Grand Prix in the Innovation Hub. This high-profile event allowed us to showcase our robots, promote the Future of Females in STEM & Engineering, and raise awareness of FIRST programs to a broad and diverse audience.
From March 13th to 16th, 2024, Team 5648 – Melbourne RoboCats – proudly exhibited at the F1 Australian Grand Prix in the Innovation Hub. This high-profile event allowed us to showcase our robots, promote the Future of Females in STEM & Engineering, and raise awareness of FIRST programs to a broad and diverse audience.
Over the course of the event, the Melbourne RoboCats engaged with more than 450,000 patrons, including children, families, and STEM enthusiasts. We inspired young people to get involved in FIRST Robotics and encouraged girls to explore STEM pathways—inviting many to join Melbourne RoboCats. This outreach also opened doors to industry collaboration, connecting us with partners from space, innovation, and university sectors. As a result, we successfully recruited new team members and welcomed new mentors through these professional networks.
2024 Australian EduTech Expo
The RoboCats Team were invited to exhibit at the Australian EduTech Expo which is Australia’s premier event for education and EdTech, to showcase young women in STEM by FIRST Australia. The Australian EduTech Expo was held part of the National Science Week Australia wide, and was supported by the Victorian Department of Education, to enhance education in Australasia, and annually attracting 10,000-15,000 attendees, making it one of the world’s largest education conferences. Since its 2011 Sydney launch, EduTech has expanded globally, with events in Singapore, the Philippines, Dubai, Johannesburg, and London, reaching over 50,000 educators yearly.
The RoboCats team was asked to come to reach out to the wider STEM, Education and Technology organisations in Australia, showcasing young women in STEM, and the amazing Robots that Melbourne RoboCats design and build year-in-year-out, with having our robot Phoenix, performing its functions.
2024 F1 Australian Grand Prix
The Melbourne RoboCats Team met with the McLaren Team and both of their two Drivers – Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The energy was alive and contagious, with our RoboCats Team and our Drivers teaching the Drivers of McLaren how to drive Phoenix (our robot), detailed discussions about the Engineering design and build concepts used by both F1 and Melbourne RoboCats.
The event was very successful with a lot of coverage taken by the Netflix series Formula 1 Drive to Survive and Channel 10.
The AGPC were very impressed and happy with the feedback from McLaren Team and their Drivers – Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
” … we are thrilled you enjoyed it and honestly you should be so proud of the girls – they conducted themselves so wonderfully. They were the perfect balance of excited and high energy but also amazing knowledge and bright shining beacons of women in STEM!!“
Sri Lanka Robotics FIRST 