A few weeks ago we had our first competitions, and they (mostly) went really well!! In this post we want to share our experience and also explain why we think the evaluation system of the category Future Innovators could use some improvement.
The Regional Competition in Yverdon
The Regional Competition went very well, and we had a great time there meeting many other teams. Although the lift system of our farm had some initial problems, we managed to fix them by the second round of judging. The lift system was then fully working, but the tray mechanism that takes the plants out still wasn’t reliable.
In the following weeks we kept working on it and improved the system for the national final.
At the regional final we achieved the highest score in Switzerland, which really surprised us since it was our first time competing. In Yverdon we already had some doubts about the WRO judging system, and those doubts only grew stronger at the national final
How we worked
We started our project with zero knowledge and a lot of naivety. We had no prior experience in 3D design, programming, or even electronics really. While we had already built some simple stuff before, we had never worked on such a big project. To make our dream a reality we had to learn a lot: PCB design, CAD, and programming all required huge amounts of time, and in total we invested well over 1000 hours per person. It was a very intense period, but now that it’s over we are happy about everything we learned. Most of the time we spent was dedicated to learning new skills — we took courses and read multiple books to educate ourselves on these topics.
Another key factor was the size of our project. Our vertical farm had a final volume of 0.75 m³, and since we were on a tight budget we had to save money on components. This forced us to make difficult design decisions, such as 3D‑printing the entire frame to reduce costs. That also consumed a lot of time, because we had to finish the prints after they came out and then build and test the whole system. In total we produced more than 120 prototypes to test and optimize our components. We will upload our documentation here so you can explore all aspects of the project.
The national final & doubts about the judging
At the national final in Hausen AG we thought we had good chances. Our fully custom‑built system was working well, even though the tray mechanism still caused some trouble. We had finished our own ESP32 PCB, integrated it into the farm, and our custom app was running smoothly.
A highlight was meeting the WRO community. We connected with a team from Basel called Overclocked and enjoyed the competitive spirit — teams pushing limits and giving their best.
When judging began, our doubts grew. Many judges asked no technical questions and instead focused on teamwork or impact, which felt unfair when they didn’t understand the depth of our project. For example, after explaining how we designed our PCB from scratch, one judge asked where we had bought it. This showed they hadn’t read our documentation or appreciated our effort.
Despite these concerns, we expected a strong result as in Yverdon. But at the award ceremony we were shocked: our team placed fourth out of five. First went to Singapore, while second and third advanced to the Europe final in Slovenia. We came home shattered, feeling that all our effort had been for nothing
We criticise:
- Lack of technical depth in evaluation
- Judges not properly examining the projects
- Overvaluing presentation instead of technical depth and real‑world impact
How to improve:
- Involve judges with stronger technical backgrounds (for example from universities)
- Require judges to read the documentation before evaluation
- Define more precise criteria to make judging fair and consisten
We are deeply unsatisfied with the results and had expected more from a competition of this level. We truly hope that improvements will be made in the future.
We are going to the Europe final!!!
A few days after the national final, something completely unexpected happened. Our coach Julian received a call from the WRO organization. They told us that the team who had placed third would not be able to attend the Europe final in Slovenia. This meant that we, despite finishing fourth, were suddenly given the chance to join the competition.
We couldn’t believe it at first, after all the disappointment at the national final, this news felt like a second chance. We were extremely happy and excited, but at the same time we immediately realized the enormous pressure we were under. Preparing for an international competition is not easy, and on top of that we had to deal with the financial side of things. Traveling to Slovenia, transporting our project, and covering accommodation costs all require significant funding.
Right now, we are actively seeking sponsorships to make this trip possible. We believe that our project deserves to be presented on the European stage, and we are determined to show what we have achieved. Even though the judging in Switzerland left us frustrated, we hope that in Slovenia the evaluation will be more balanced, with judges who truly understand the technical depth and innovation behind projects like ours.
This opportunity means a lot to us. It shows that even when things don’t go as planned, persistence and hard work can still open doors. We are motivated to give our best, to represent Switzerland, and to connect with other teams from across Europe.
See you in Slovenia!!!