China Education Daily - China Education News Network (Reporter Shi Jiansong)
The results of the 2025 International Youth Unmanned Systems Challenge Underwater Project "SeaPerch" Global Finals were announced recently. The representative team from Beijing Bayi School won the sixth place globally in the Junior Secondary Group total score. This is the first time that a Chinese youth representative team has entered the top ten globally in this event.
The "SeaPerch" project is a STEM education innovation project for primary and secondary schools centered on underwater robots, covering an international marine characteristic competition system and curriculum. It is hailed as the "Olympics" of underwater unmanned systems. Initiated by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), it is recognized by the industry as the highest-level event in the field of underwater robots. The Organizing Committee of the China Region is composed of units such as the Science Education Professional Committee of the China Science Writers Association and the Youth Work Committee of the Chinese Society of Oceanography. Under the guidance of the China Region Organizing Committee, the Hong Kong Science Popularization and Science Fiction Academy (HKSPSF) held the "2024 Underwater Unmanned Systems Challenge (Hong Kong & Macau Selection)" and the "2025 Underwater Unmanned Systems Challenge (Hong Kong Selection)". This event is an important part of the "SeaPerch" project, aiming to select and cultivate outstanding youth teams from Hong Kong and surrounding areas to participate in higher-level domestic and international competitions.
The theme of the 2025 International Youth Unmanned Systems Challenge "SeaPerch" Global Finals is Coral Reef Restoration Exploration and Environmental Monitoring. A total of 181 teams and 807 students from all over the world were shortlisted. Among them, there were 5 Chinese youth representative teams, composed of 42 junior and senior high school students from schools such as RDFZ Hangtian City School, Beijing Bayi School, Beijing No. 35 High School, Beijing Xicheng Youth Science and Technology Museum, Guangdong Experimental High School, and Guangdong Overseas Chinese High School.
Five teams from the Chinese representative team participated in all events of the three groups. Through teamwork, they completed challenge tasks including speed challenge, mission challenge, technical design report, and defense presentation. In the end, all teams created their own best results, achieving a historic breakthrough overall. The representative team from Beijing Bayi School won the sixth place globally in the Junior Secondary Group total score, setting a new high for the total ranking of the Chinese representative team, significantly improving from the best result of 23rd place last year. In terms of individual awards, the joint team of Beijing No. 35 High School and Guangdong Experimental High School ranked fifth globally in the Senior High School Mission Competition, and RDFZ Hangtian City School ranked 13th in the Junior Secondary Group Speed Competition, both setting new highs for the mission competition results of the Chinese representative team.
Ma Juanjuan, Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the Youth Work Committee of the Chinese Society of Oceanography, said that in 2025, the Youth Work Committee of the Chinese Society of Oceanography will actively coordinate with relevant initiating units to promote international activities and exchanges of youth marine science, technology, and marine STEM education, actively disseminate Chinese marine culture, and contribute Chinese youth wisdom in the process of participating in global marine governance.