Kickoff 2025-2026
Date: Saturday September 6, 2025
Time: 13:30 – 19:00
Location: Koning Willem I College
Address: Onderwijsboulevard 3, s-Hertogenbosch
General program
13:30 – 14:00 | Welcome
13:30 – 17:30 | FIRST Market open
14:00 – 14:25 | Opening
14:25 – 14:30 | Teams to master classes and workshops
14:30 – 15:30 | Master classes round 1 & FIRST Market
15:30 – 16:00 | Break
16:00 – 17:00 | Master classes round 2 & FIRST Market
17:00 – 17:30 | Break
17:30 – 18:00 | Announcements & Updates 2025-2026 season
18:00 – 18:30 | Worldwide Kickoff DECODE – Game Reveal
18:30 – 19:00 | Field Reveal – Q&A
Overview Master Classes
During the Kickoff each participant will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of master classes. At the Kickoff, tickets will be distributed to each team, allowing you to select the sessions that best suit your interests and professional development needs.
| Master class / Workshop | Description |
| Strategic Design | A good strategy is THE most important thing for a successful season. After this workshop you will have the tools to use your team’s capabilities to it’s full potential. |
| Intro to FIRST Tech Challenge | New to FIRST Tech Challenge? This workshop will explain what to expect during a season, including the do’s and don’ts at events. It also provides a general overview of the steps your team needs to take to prepare for qualifiers and the Championship. |
| Coach training & team registration | Get tips and tricks for coaching a (new) team for the upcoming season, and we’ll assist you with the registration process. |
| Judging | What should a team prepare for when presenting themselves for the judges. Discover the secrets to getting nominated for an award in this exciting master class. |
| Introduction to SOLIDWORKS xDesign on the web | In this workshop, you can try the power of 3D modeling on any hardware with SOLIDWORKS xDesign via the browser. Also learn how collaboration in the cloud can accelerate your design process with 3DEXPERIENCE. |
| Project-based planning (in Dutch) 14:30 – 16:00 |
During this workshop, you will learn how to set goals, prioritize them, plan, and maintain an overview. Additionally, you will receive tips on how to conduct efficient meetings and design a planning board. Please note this workshop is in Dutch and has a duration of 1,5 hrs. |
| BUAS: AI & Robotics | State-of-the-art AI, combining computer vision and machine learning, is transforming robotics with human-like perception, autonomous navigation, real-time interaction, and enhanced automated strategies across industries. |
FIRST Market
In addition to the master classes, we are hosting a FIRST Market. You can visit a range of stands and demonstrations covering inspiring and practical topics:
- How to build a robot in one day.
- FIRST alumni, how can you contribute?
- Get to know the REV starterbot.
- All about FIRST Global.
- What to do after FIRST Tech Challenge -> Get into FIRST Robotics Competition.
- Learn more about our IOL-funded project, focused on developing an open-access robotics curriculum that strengthens digital literacy and computational thinking in secondary education (for teachers).
This is event is support by:
