Feb 03, 2026

Student Team Wins Design Award at VEXU

A multidisciplinary student robotics team from King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) achieved a major national milestone by winning the Design Award at the VEXU Robotics Competition, held on February 1–2, 2026, in Riyadh. Organized by the Saudi Federation for Robotics and RC Sports, the competition brought together leading university teams across the Kingdom to showcase robot design, programming, and engineering integration. The Design Award is one of the most prestigious awards in VEXU, recognizing teams with a strong engineering design process, high-quality documentation, and outstanding technical presentation.

The team’s success was the result of outstanding teamwork, collaborative guidance and sustained mentorship. The team was coached by Eng. Mohsen AL Zamzam, Founder of KRT2 and KFUPM Robotics Team (KRT) Leader, and Ms. Boutheina Abdelhak who played key roles in team formation, training, and competition readiness. The students were advised by Dr. Hassan Almubarak and Dr. Khadijah Al-Safwan whose academic support and strong technical insights contributed to shaping the team’s engineering approach.

Led by Forkan Hussein Alsalman (KRT2 Leader), the student team included Jinan Ali Shajiri, Norah Alkanhal, Zahra Mohammed Aljarrash, Sakinah AlTurki, Shouq Jawad Alabdullah, Joud Eid Alharbi, Raseel Abdullah Alharbi, Alya Alamer, Duaa Alhassan, Amjad Ali Altammar, and Janeen Alawami. The students collaborated across mechanical design, electronics, programming, and documentation to develop a competition-ready robot tailored to the VEXU challenge. Their robot demonstrated a high level of integration, balancing mechanical efficiency, electrical reliability, and robust software control. This integrated approach, supported by a disciplined design methodology and clear technical communication, earned the team the Design Award.

The team’s participation was supported by the Deanship of Student Affairs (DSA), represented by Dr. Khalid Alanezy, the Department of Control and Instrumentation Engineering (CIE), represented by Dr. Mujahed Al-Dhaifallah, and the Interdisciplinary Research Center for Smart Mobility and Logistics (IRC-SML), represented by Dr. Sami El-Ferik, reflecting KFUPM’s commitment to experiential learning and student engagement in engineering competitions. Building on this achievement, the team aims to further strengthen its robotics capabilities and participate in future local and international competitions.