Students from all over the world will come together at the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University in June 2026 to compete in the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Competition World Championship.

This will be the third time the Marine Institute has hosted the World Championships; first in 2007 and again in 2015. To date, the Marine Institute has been the only venue to host the World Championships outside of the US.

The MATE ROV competition is an underwater robotics challenge that engages a global community of learners each year. MATE’s mission is to inspire and challenge students to learn and creatively apply STEM skills to solve real-world problems and strengthen their critical thinking, collaboration, entrepreneurship and innovation, preparing them for the blue economy workforce.

“We’re excited to be bringing the 2026 MATE ROV Competition World Championship back to Newfoundland and Labrador for a third time,” said Joe Singleton, head, School of Ocean Technology and Regional Coordinator for the MATE ROV Newfoundland and Labrador regional competition.

“The MATE Competition is an amazing opportunity for students to develop and showcase their skills in science, engineering, and technology. We’re proud to have the opportunity to further student engagement in the competition and introduce the next generation of innovators, explorers, and leaders to the opportunities available in the ocean technology sector."

The competition requires teams from high school to post-secondary levels to design and construct an ROV and complete a series of tasks that relate to the competition’s theme. For the 2026 competition, teams will pilot their ROVs in the world’s largest flume tank—housed at MI’s Ridge Road campus.

In addition to designing and piloting their ROVs for the product demonstration, teams must demonstrate corporate responsibility, and prepare an engineering presentation, technical documentation, and marketing display. These elements evaluate the teams’ ability to communicate what they have learned and how they put their knowledge to use in creating their ROV.

“We are thrilled to be coming back to Memorial University, the Marine Institute, and the City of St. John’s,” said Jill Zande, Executive Director, MATE.

“The warm hospitality, tremendous support and access to world-class facilities are all reasons why we are excited and looking forward to bringing our global community of learners, innovators, and future leaders to the province.”

Memorial University’s Eastern Edge Robotics teams will be travelling to Alpena, Michigan next month to compete in the 2025 World Championship. The team will be pursuing their fifth international title. Memorial’s newest team, Western Wave Robotics, is seeking qualification for the first time.

Also attending the 2025 competition are teams from Clarenville High School and Labrador Straits Academy. Both teams qualified by claiming first and second at the Regional MATE ROV competition hosted by the Marine Institute from May 2-3.