Another Culture Change

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by EJB2081

If you don't believe that a student built robot is better than one built by a professional then why does FIRST even exist??

Ask FIRST why it exists. You'll get this answer:

Originally Posted by FIRST Mission

Our mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.

There's nothing in FIRST's mission that supports a proposal that 100% student-built robots are preferable to partnership-built robots.

Originally Posted by EJB2081

But if the mentor builds the robot how can the students take anything away??

Even supposing that there exist such 100% mentor-built robots, that's an easy question to answer. The thing about FIRST that distinguishes it from basically every other superficially similar organization is the emphasis on mentoring by professionals. Bringing students through a disciplined engineering process gives them the knowledge that such processes are important for consistent success. Showing students how to do analysis and design gives them the right idea about real-world engineering and technology.