Now in its eighth year, Global Underwater Hub’s annual STEM Challenge competition tests and develops the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills of pupils aged 13–14 years of age. The initiative offers pupils an opportunity to learn about the UK’s £9.4 billion underwater industry, which includes the offshore energy, marine science, maritime robotics, aquaculture, and defense sectors.

Run by Global Underwater Hub, the leading trade and industry development body for the UK’s underwater sectors, the hands-on, team-centered program is held with the support of educational charity The Smallpeice Trust. The success of the inspiring initiative and the opportunity it affords the pupils is only possible through the support of industry, with organizations such as BP, Energy Central Campus, Opito, Saab, Subsea7, and Viper Innovations among the sponsors.

Up to 60 schools are expected to participate in the environment-themed STEM education program over the coming months. Ten schools will take part in each of the six regional heats, which are held in Bristol and Southampton in April, followed by Blyth, Manchester, Inverness, and Glasgow in May. The winning school from each heat then has the chance to travel to Aberdeen to compete in the national final.

With an environmental message of marine stewardship and protecting the world’s oceans and seas from plastic pollution at its core, the technology project is built around the premise of creating a new ROV capable of navigating the marine ecosystem to retrieve plastics. The teams of pupils are tasked with designing, building, coding, operating, and marketing a model wheeled ROV constructed using Lego Spike sets, with the concepts pitched to a judging panel of industry experts who then decide the winner of each heat.

Alongside applying the skills pupils are being taught at school, STEM Challenge develops their problem-solving, project management, presentation, and teamworking skills, whilst they also receive insight into a range of potential career paths.

The initiative also broadens the knowledge of teachers who attend with their pupils. It demonstrates how the skills they are teaching in class can be applied in the workplace, particularly in an industry they may have had limited awareness of, and one that employs around 52,000 people across the UK.

Demonstrating the reach of this educational program, since it was first held in 2018, Global Underwater Hub’s STEM Challenge has seen nearly 2,000 pupils from over 190 secondary schools across the UK broaden their skills and learn about careers in the underwater industry.

Pupils from schools in Newcastle, Sheffield, Norfolk, and Inverness are among previous winners of the national final. In 2025, a team from Bristol Free School joined that list. The team of 13 and 14-year-old students proved victorious over peers from Millburn Academy, Inverness, St Ninian’s High School in Giffnock, Walker Riverside Academy in Newcastle upon Tyne, Manchester’s Philips High School, and Medina College on the Isle of Wight.

Neil Gordon, Chief Executive of Global Underwater Hub, said: “STEM Challenge is a hugely inspiring, technology-driven annual competition for secondary schools across the UK. At its core is a strong environmental message, something that is important to us all, but particularly to our youngsters. Each year, our judges are blown away by the knowledge, creativity, and technical capabilities of the young teens that participate.

“The underwater industry is hugely important to the UK economy, injecting billions annually and supporting over 50,000 jobs. Companies across the nation have been at the forefront of developing underwater robotic technology for decades, pioneering new products and approaches that are driving forward the underwater sectors. STEM Challenge is a unique opportunity for schools from the Scottish Highlands to England’s south coast to learn about this vibrant sector and for businesses working in it to help inform the future workforce of the career opportunities it presents.”

Secondary schools situated close to Bristol, Blyth, Glasgow, Inverness, Manchester, and Southampton, and that are interested in participating in the STEM Challenge, and companies interested in sponsoring the initiative, should contact Global Underwater Hub by emailing [email protected].