The MATE Center uses underwater robots – also known as remotely operated vehicles or ROVs – to teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and prepare students for technical careers.

The MATE competition challenges K-12, community college, and university students from all over the world to design and build ROVs to tackle missions modelled after scenarios from the ocean workplace.  The competition’s class structure of beginner, intermediate, and advanced complements the education pipeline by providing students with the opportunity to build upon their skills – and the application of those skills – as they engineer increasingly more complex ROVs for increasingly more complex mission tasks.

The MATE competition requires students to think of themselves as “entrepreneurs” and transform their teams into companies that manufacture, market, and sell “products.”  In addition to engineering their ROVs, the students are required to prepare technical reports, poster displays, and engineering presentations that are delivered to working professionals who serve as competition judges.