MATE ROV Competition Underwater Robotics & Engineering Design Professional Development Workshop (Introductory Level) 

Date: April 25-26, 2026

Location: SUNY Oswego Campus - Oswego, New York

About the Workshop: The Underwater Robotics and Engineering Design Professional Development workshop focuses on how to teach the engineering design process using underwater robotics. Participants learn the fundamentals of basic ROV building and experience a variety of hands-on science, technology, and engineering design activities that can be integrated into a class or after school program to reinforce foundational knowledge and skills. Upon completion of the workshop, all participants should feel confident to lead an engineering design activity focused on ROV building using the Pufferfish ROV Kit of comparable parts and components. 

Who Should Apply: Formal and informal educators in Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary communities who have had introductory exposure to ROV activities or have a background in teaching science, technology, engineering, or math. Activities presented in this workshop are appropriate for students in grades 5-12 or equivalent, as well as first-year college or university students new to underwater robotics and engineering design. The goal is to provide all participants with the knowledge, skills, and experiences that will enable them to implement these activities with students in the classroom, homeschool, or STEM club. 

About the Organizers: The MATE ROV Competition is a pillar program of the Marine Technology Society (MTS) that uses remotely operated vehicles (aka underwater robotics) to inspire and challenge students to learn and creatively apply science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to solve real-world problems and strengthen their critical thinking, collaboration, entrepreneurship, and innovation. 

Registration Cost: This workshop is sponsored by the MATE ROV Academy and Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary, hosted by SUNY Oswego Great Lakes Institute, and funded by a grant from the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation under Federal Award NA24NOSX429C0001-T1-01.  

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