For a long time, Festo has attached great importance to encouraging the skilled workers of tomorrow in order to drive technological innovation in industry. When preparing for later professional life, learning through competitions takes on a special role. Whether as part of a team or individually, it is not only learning and solving tasks that are essential. Motivation is just as valuable as the skills learned. For the young participants in national and international competitions, the event is an unforgettable experience. By directly comparing themselves with others they are spurred on to peak performance and the competitive atmosphere generates sheer excitement. Competitions inspire young people on their way into professional life.
WorldSkills is the leading platform for comparing international performance in vocational skills. Festo participates in the WorldSkills Competitions in various roles: as a global industry partner (GIP) and as a participant in the competitions with its own trainees. We actively participate in different competitive disciplines, such as mechatronics, water technology, industrial mechanics and renewable energy. During the 2019 competitions in Kazan, Russia, the hot topic of Industry 4.0 was still treated as a so-called "future skill". At the competitions in Shanghai, China, Industry 4.0 will be an official discipline for the first time. Festo provides, among other things, the workstations at which the international teams compete for the medals.
Find out more about WorldSkills – the world championships of vocational skills training
The FIRST ® LEGO ® League is a support programme introducing children and young people to technology and scientific research through play. The annual robotics competitions motivate young researchers to solve tasks related to specific topics using their innovative ideas and team spirit. On the day of the competition, each team is judged on three areas – robotics design, research and teamwork – and takes part in a three-round "robot game" with the robots they have developed.
The aim of the international RoboCup community is to foster the development of intelligent robots through competitions and to provide scientists and students from all over the world with an attractive test environment for their robots. In addition to promoting this concept, Festo also lends its support to the Industrial Logistics League. Multi-agent planning issues in research meet sensor and navigation issues in robotics, thus reflecting the challenges manufacturers face with regard to highly flexible production and goods flows in the age of Industry 4.0.