HMMA Hosts Fourth Annual HIRE School Robotics Tournament – Autos Community

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) hosted its fourth annual Hyundai Initiative for Robotics Excellence (HIRE) School Robotics Tournament on February 6 and 7, 2025. The VEX IQ Robotics competition was held at the HMMA Training Center and comprised teams from Montgomery Public, Autauga County, and Selma City schools.

In 2019, HMMA partnered with Auburn University’s Southeastern Center of Robotics Education (SCORE) to start the HIRE program. HIRE aims to establish robotics teams at local schools to seed the next generation of a technically proficient workforce. The HIRE program will emphasise STEM education and academic excellence within the public school system.

“At HMMA, we know that studies show that robotics is one of the most effective and engaging ways to get young people interested in STEM, science, technology, engineering and math through the hands-on learning that they have with them through the competitions like we have here today,” said Scott Posey, Manager of Public Relations at HMMA.

120 Montgomery, 80 Autauga County, and 50 Selma City public school students competed in the competition, with Autauga and Selma competing on Feb 6 and Montgomery competing on Feb 7. The contest pits local schools’ robotics teams and their student-created robots against one another in skills trials, engineering notebook judging, qualifying matches, and championship matches. Engineering team members from HMMA and Montgomery Preparatory Academy For Career Technologies (MPACT) served as judges.

“We have grown in size and the number of students participating in robotics, but also in opportunities,” said Jamie Wilson, Interim Superintendent of Montgomery Public Schools. “It’s great to see our students engaged. Seeing them smiling and meeting other students across schools, states, and the nation is great. Again, it’s just invaluable experiences that I wish I had when I was a student.“

“Just to see the growth of those students over the years, to see the growth of the teachers feeling more confident and comfortable using robotics in their classroom is huge,” said Jennifer Spencer, Assistant Director of SCORE.

Damien Barnes is a process engineering manager with HMMA’s engine team. “You know, 40 years ago, making cars was very different than making cars now.  So, these kids will be the ones that take us to the next level,” said Damien.

HIRE is the result of multiple grants made by HMMA over the past several years to establish robotics teams at local schools to seed the next generation of a technically proficient workforce. HMMA’s total investment in local robotics education is now over $500,000.

During the competition, students received a robotics demonstration of a Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics SPOT robot.

“About 4 years ago, Hyundai purchased Boston Dynamics,” said Scott Posey. “We purchased one of these robots as an engagement tool for the youth participating in these competitions. So, just as they’re making their robots, they can have a hands-on experience with an industrial robot, which they find fascinating.”