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ITER Robots competition

Where student innovation takes centre stage

27 May 2026 - Julie Marcillat

Robots, teamwork and creativity took centre stage at the Marie Mauron junior high school in Pertuis, France, on 21 May, as students gathered for the 15th edition of the ITER Robots competition.

On competition day—Thursday 21 May—team robots completing a series of tasks are assessed by a jury of ITER and CEA engineers. The teams also evaluated on their communication skills and understanding of fusion energy and the ITER project.

Organized by Agence Iter France in partnership with the Aix-Marseille education authorities, the ITER Organization and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), ITER Robots is a robotics engineering competition for primary and secondary students in the south of France.

This year’s edition brought together 315 students, in 25 teams from 19 schools. Over the course of the six months preceding the competition, participants had designed and built small-scale robots capable of simulating maintenance operations inside the ITER tokamak.

Throughout the day, teams tackled a series of demanding robotics challenges that tested their technical expertise, ingenuity and collaborative skills, while also deepening their understanding of robotics, fusion energy, and the ITER project.

Since its launch, the competition has steadily grown in popularity and is now regarded as a flagship educational event in the region. 

315 students in 25 teams from 19 schools took part in the 15th edition of the ITER Robot contest.

ITER engineer Jean-Pierre Martins, a jury member since the competition’s early years, highlighted the complexity of the challenges.

“I have been a member of the jury for 15 years now. The contest is not an easy one—especially the activity that asks students’ robots to replicate ITER-like remote handling operations, transporting tokamak components from the reactor to the ITER Hot Cell Facility for repair or refurbishment,” he said. “This year, we did not award a prize in this category, but I do not see that as a failure. Things do not always go as planned, but every setback brings valuable experience and opportunities to grow.”

Fabrice Raynal of Agence Iter France echoed this message of perseverance and collective achievement. Addressing the students, he praised their commitment and teamwork.

“Through your work, your team spirit and your dedication, you have shown that together you are capable of taking on complex challenges, just like the engineers working at ITER,” he said.

See the gallery below for some more impressions from the day. 

At the ITER booth, students were lining up to learn from ITER's ‘’plasmagician,’’ Marco Spizzi, who brought the principles of a tokamak to life. Pictured here, is the team from the elementary school Eau Vive, from Vinon-sur-Verdon near ITER.
Last tests before this team competes in the Thymio category, adapted to the youngest participants (10-11 years old). ears old). It consists in programming and equipping an off-the-shelf robot to perform simplified tasks, based on the same principles as the older students. Congratulations to this team from the Eau Vive primary school for winning!
The "Pick’n’Place" category is a tough one—following the black lines, picking up an object from one location and carrying it safety to another. The team from Lycée Saint-Louis Sainte-Marie is seeking advice from ITER’s Jean-Pierre Martins, who has been part of the jury since 2012.
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