For the seventh consecutive year, Bombardier and its employees contributed to the success of Montreal’s Robotics Festival.

This three-day event and competition — held at the start of this month — was organised by FIRST Robotics Québec and Youth Fusion; the aim is to inspire young people to pursue further studies and careers in the field of science,
technology and engineering.

As one of the founders of FIRST Robotics Québec and the main sponsort, Bombardier had a significant presence, with over 100 employees giving their time to share their passion for technology.

Many of them have been volunteering for the organisation for years, while others have been acting as mentors for the participants as they prepared for the competition.

At the Bombardier stand, visitors also saw part of a C Series aircraft’s cockpit and rear fuselage, and they were able to learn about the steps necessary to take an aircraft from “dream to reality”.

This year, more than 3,000 participants aged from 6 to 18 registered for the competition, which brought together teams from Québec and Ontario, as well as Brazil, France and the USA.

With help from mentors and professional engineers, they had to design, build and program a robot capable of performing complex tasks in a limited time.

The winners will participate in the World Championship, taking place in Detroit (Michigan) 25-28 April.

Bombardier chairman Pierre Beaudoin said: “It is truly inspiring to see the ingenuity and the energy deployed by the participants to build these impressive robots.

“The Robotics Festival is a great opportunity to encourage the next generation of innovators to persevere in their studies, and Bombardier is very proud to help them develop the skills that will give them access to thrilling careers in science, technology and engineering in a few years.”