Dwight Robotics Claims National Title at VEX V5 Championship

The VEX National Championship is Korea’s culminating VEX V5 robotics tournament of the season, bringing together qualifying school teams from across the country for a high-intensity competition that tests engineering, programming, and strategic thinking. After months of preparation, teams arrive with robots designed to perform under pressure while adapting to constantly changing match conditions. The event blends elements of sport and engineering, where success depends not only on technical design but also on how effectively teams respond to real-time challenges once the matches begin.
 

[Image by Dwight Robotics]

For the Dwight School Seoul robotics team, the path to Nationals was built through persistence and steady work. Their season unfolded through long afternoons in the robotics lab that often stretched into evenings of testing, rebuilding, and refining their robot. Progress rarely came easily. Intakes that failed to secure game elements had to be redesigned, electrical wiring needed to be reorganized, and pneumatic systems that worked in theory sometimes broke down during practice matches. Instead of viewing these moments as failures, the students treated them as valuable information, using each challenge to guide their next improvement.
 
Iteration soon became the rhythm of the season. The team worked through repeated cycles of building, testing, and revising their design until both the robot and the students operating it became more reliable. Over time, these cycles transformed early prototypes into a competitive machine capable of performing under tournament pressure.
 
Balancing time in the lab with academic responsibilities also proved to be an important challenge. With limited access to the robotics space in a busy school environment, the students carefully coordinated their schedules. They organized practice sessions, communicated clearly with teachers and administrators, and planned their work so that each lab session could be used as productively as possible. In a competition where time spent testing and refining can make the difference between success and failure, this level of organization became a meaningful advantage.
 

Although small in number, the Dwight team brought together a diverse range of strengths. Captain Hyun Jun, a Grade 10 student, provided leadership and strategic direction throughout the season. Daniel contributed strong technical expertise and a deep commitment to the engineering process, while senior Woochan brought consistency and determination during both testing and competition. Channy, Juno, and Jiho added crucial support by assisting with testing sessions, helping refine systems, and strengthening the team’s ability to adapt when challenges arose. Together, they developed a disciplined workflow that allowed them to approach the championship with confidence.
 
Teamwork played a central role in their success. In robotics competitions such as VEX, collaboration is visible at every stage of preparation and performance. Team members must define roles clearly, communicate problems directly, and make design decisions based on evidence gathered through testing and match results. These processes closely reflect the collaborative and reflective learning approaches emphasized in the International Baccalaureate curriculum at Dwight School Seoul. Throughout the season, the students practiced communication, collaboration, and self-management while using performance data to guide design improvements. Problem-solving was not theoretical; each decision had immediate consequences on the competition field.
 
At the VEX National Championship, Dwight School Seoul reached a significant milestone by earning the Tournament Champion title. Behind that achievement were months of redesigns, repaired systems, and countless testing sessions that demanded patience and resilience. While the trophy represents a proud moment for the team and the school community, the deeper accomplishment lies in the skills, discipline, and teamwork the students developed throughout the season.
 
With the national title secured, the team is now preparing for the VEX World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, scheduled for April 21–24. There they will compete against top robotics teams from around the world. As the event approaches, the students have returned to the lab to refine the final iteration of their robot, hoping to build on their performance at Nationals while representing South Korea on the global stage.
  

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