Mission Ready: The World's Brightest Young Innovators Face Off in the 2025 MATE ROV Competition World Championship

Hosted in Alpena, Michigan, at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, this global competition empowers students to design, build, and deploy ROVs to tackle real-world challenges.

ALPENA, Mich., June 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2025 MATE ROV Competition World Championship is returning to Alpena, Michigan, and the historic Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary for the first time since 2014. Now in its 23^rd year, the internationally recognized competition brings student innovators from across the globe together to showcase their skills in marine technology and engineering.

The MATE ROV Competition, a program of the Marine Technology Society (MTS), challenges student teams to design and build underwater drones, also known as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to tackle real-world-inspired mission tasks. This year's theme—"UN Decade of the Ocean, MATE Year of the Great Lakes: Exploring, Monitoring, and Protecting Our Water World"—highlights the unique engineering challenges of working in freshwater environments and encourages creative approaches to exploration and data collection.

A total of 79 teams from 18 countries around the world will take part in the 2025 World Championship, showcasing technical ingenuity, teamwork, and problem-solving in an immersive and hands-on setting.

This year's mission tasks take place in the outdoor test tank at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary—a controlled, open-air environment designed to simulate real-world conditions. Teams will document a historic shipwreck, deploy a moored buoy equipped with environmental sensors, and collect and analyze water samples, all within this specially designed tank. Additionally, the team will focus on maintaining offshore wind turbines and floating solar panels systems, as well as deploying vertical profiling floats that contribute to global observing efforts. These tasks will play a crucial role in advancing marine technology and ocean monitoring.

"These students continue to impress with their problem-solving ability and professionalism," said Jill Zande, MATE Executive Director at MTS. "Bringing the World Championship back to Alpena—where we held it in 2014—is incredibly special. Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary offers students a one-of-a-kind opportunity to engage with marine technology and maritime heritage."

She added, "This competition is more than just a challenge—it's a foundation for the next generation of problem-solvers, engineers, leaders, and explorers."

The MATE ROV Competition supports STEM learning, workforce development, and career readiness by offering students meaningful opportunities to apply their knowledge in real-world scenarios. The 2025 event is made possible through the generous support of the National Science Foundation, Schmidt Ocean Institute, Oceaneering International, Blue Robotics, Fugro, Beatbot, and other companies and organizations that specialize in underwater technology and operations.

For more information, including a complete list of competing teams and program sponsors, visit materovcompetition.org/world-championship.

Watch the competition live via Twitch: www.twitch.tv/mateinspires1.

About the MATE ROV Competition
Established with funding from the National Science Foundation at Monterey Peninsula College in 1997, the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center worked with the Marine Technology Society's ROV Committee to create the MATE ROV Competition. The first event kicked off in 2001. Fifteen years later, MATE Inspiration for Innovation (MATE II) incorporated in the state of California as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. MATE II was founded in 2016 to support and sustain ongoing education activities initiated at the MATE Center. During July 2023, MATE II initiated the next phase of its journey by becoming an integral part of the Marine Technology Society's lineup of program offerings. Through this partnership, MATE and MTS have fostered connection and bridged the gap between today's professionals and future innovators in marine technology. To learn more, visit materovcompetition.org.

About Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
The 4,300 square-mile Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary protects an incredible collection of 200 shipwrecks. Preserved in clear, fresh Lake Huron water, they offer world-class diving, snorkeling and paddling opportunities. Get into your sanctuary by climbing the steps of a lighthouse, splashing around on a snorkel expedition, taking a glass bottom boat or kayak tour, or plunging below the waves to explore a majestic schooner. To learn more about Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, visit the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, the sanctuary's visitor center and shipwreck museum, located in downtown Alpena or explore www.thunderbay.noaa.gov.

SOURCE Marine Technology Society (MTS)