World Robot Olympiad™
A non-profit Organization
World Robot Olympiad Association™ is an independent non-profit organization. All revenue from sponsorships and fees is invested in support of our mission, which is to promote robotics in STEM education worldwide.
WRO® operates on, is measured on and strives towards the following Values:
Diversity
WRO is accessible to young people from around the world, regardless of background
Teamwork
Our teams succeed by embracing collaboration and build friendships, integrity and character in the process
Passion
Learning occurs naturally when participants are in flow and having fun when engaged in our activities
Innovation
Our programs are innovative and hands-on, based around trending topics and technologies
Empowerment
We inspire and prepare young people to be digital pioneers, innovators and engineers
Advisory Council
The WRO® Advisory Council (AC) members represent our regions and bring us important strategic knowledge that helps us keep up with a constantly changing world.
Mr Dominic Bruneau, Canada
– Chairman –
bio
Africa & Middle East:
Ms Laila Berchane, Morocco
Mr Brent Hutcheson, South Africa
Asia & Pacific:
Ms Zartaj Ahmed, Pakistan
Ms Nualwon Cha-ume, Thailand
Mr Tengku Hazrul Tengku Haizar, Malaysia
Americas:
Mr Dominic Bruneau
Ms Alejandra Sanchez, Costa Rica
Europe:
Mr Erik Kapfer, Slovenia
Ms Birthe Ritter, Denmark
Mr Carles Soler, Spain
Mr Zoltan Szögi, Hungary
The AC in 2025, Mr Hazrul, Ms Berchane, Mr Szögi, Mr Bruneau, Mr Hutcheson, Mr Kapfer,
Ms Cha-ume, Ms Ahmed, Mr Soler, Ms Sanchez, not in the picture is Ms Birthe Ritter
Staff
Our dedicated WRO® staff manages the operation of our diverse and exciting organization. From helping National Organizers and collaborating with partners to develop WRO further, to managing spreadsheets and sharing our stories with the world. No stone is left unturned when it comes to fulfilling our mission and they do their best to ensure that WRO is constantly improving while also becoming accessible to more students across the world.
Our team consists of:
Mr Claus Ditlev Christensen
Secretary General
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Ms Karen Bebelaar
Head of Program Development
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Mr Markus Fleige
Head of Projects
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Mr Lukas Plümper
Game Concept Coordinator
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Mr Jonas Zagatta
Project Manager
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Mr Vahid Jourabchi
Education Specialist
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Mr Andreas Felder
Project Assistant
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The history of WRO®
Growth and development
World Robot Olympiad™ was founded in 2004. The mission statement of our founders was:
“To bring together young people all over the world to develop their creativity, design and problem-solving skills through challenging and educational robot competitions and activities.”
It was decided that the annual WRO international final would be hosted by a different country each year. In 2004, the event was hosted by Singapore and 12 countries participated. In 2019, fifteen years later, teams from 73 countries travelled to Győr in Hungary for the international final!
Today, the competition that started small in a few Asian countries has expanded to over 85 countries spread over all continents, making WRO a truly global event.
Since 2010 World Robot Olympiad Association Ltd. is officially registered as a legal entity with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) in Singapore.
You can find a list of all former hosts of international finals here.
Number of participating teams
Number of member countries
Numbers 2025
100,000+
students involved
the tournament has been running since
2004
countries with judges at International Final
61
100+
countries have joined WRO
number of involved teams
32,000+
8 – 19*
age of participants
*22 in Future Engineers
3,300+
people attended the International Final
number of adult helpers involved in WRO
40,000+
Our partners
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