Mechatronics Students from Celje Take 2nd Place at the World Robotics Championship!

Mentor Matej Veber (first from the left) with students from the Secondary School of Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics and Media at the Celje School Centre, who travelled to RoboCUP in Brazil. PHOTO: Celje School Centre Archive

At the RoboCup 2025 World Championship, held from July 15 to 21, 2025, in Salvador, Brazil, the Slovenian team Mechatronics Rescue Team from the Secondary School of Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics and Media at the Celje School Centre achieved an outstanding 2nd place in the RoboCup Rescue Rapidly Manufacturing Robots Challenge.

The team consisted of 4th-year students of the Mechatronics Technician program:
Jure Balon, Maks Cizej, Luka Kališnik, Tian Oprešnik, Dejan Polutnik, and Nik Zabukovnik.
They were accompanied by their mentor, Dr. Matej Veber, who led the team to the world championship for the sixth time, and Mr. Matjaž Cizej.

The entire process was carried out as part of project and research work at school, proving just how essential hands-on, team-based, and problem-oriented learning is.

A Tradition of Excellence Continues
With achievements like these, Slovenian students continue to prove they are among the world’s best in robotics. Following past successes in Japan, Canada, Australia, France, the Netherlands, and now Brazil, the team is already preparing for their next challenge – RoboCup 2026 in South Korea, for which they’ve already secured a spot thanks to this year’s result.
Congratulations to all team members and mentors for this remarkable achievement and for proudly representing Slovenia on the global stage!