St. Clair College is the newest recipient of the Education Partner Excellence Award from FIRST Robotics Canada, an honour bestowed at the FIRST Robotics Windsor Essex Great Lakes Regional competition in April.
"FIRST Robotics Canada is incredibly fortunate to have strong partnerships with academic institutions that share our vision of inspiring young minds through STEM," said Dave Ellis, President of FIRST Robotics Canada. "These partnerships play a crucial role in providing students with hands on experiences, mentorship, and pathways to further education and careers in technology, skill trades, and engineering."
Ellis said St. Clair College has been a dedicated partner and sponsor of FIRST Robotics for more than a decade, impacting more than 15,000 students in Ontario.
"They've opened their door to thousands of students, coaches and mentors, feeding their passion for robotics and innovation," Ellis said. "Beyond providing a world class venue, St. Clair College has been an active partner in advancing STEM education outside of all of the other program support they've given."
"We deeply appreciate the College's unwavering support and commitment to FIRST, and it is our pleasure to present the 2026 Education Partner Excellence Award to St. Clair College, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to our mission," he said.
Al Douglas, the program coordinator and professor for Electromechanical Engineering Technology – Robotics at St. Clair College and a mentor and coach of local FIRST Robotics teams, accepted the award on behalf of the College.
"I am honoured to accept this award on behalf of St. Clair College," Douglas said. "St. Clair has a long history of involvement with FIRST Robotics."
That history started 10 years ago when the College first hosted a FIRST Lego League qualifier event. In 2014, the College's machine shop started supporting the FRC regional event. And in 2022, the College started hosting the FIRST Tech Challenge qualifier.
The College also hosts local teams throughout the season, providing mentorship, tools, and a practice venue prior to competition.
St. Clair provides a scholarship to incoming students who participated in FIRST Robotics programs while in high school.
The College also financially supports each local team with a $1,000 sponrsorship.
"I will also say that I believe that St. Clair, for many years, has provided the best machine shop of any FRC event in Ontario," Douglas said.
Douglas told a story of his own pathway to Robotics – one which started for him at university. But when he started working, he encountered many colleagues in the industry who went to college, a pathway he didn't know existed at the time.
"The other thing I came to learn was that these other people, these college grads, were actually really good at their jobs," Douglas said. "They were smart, they were skilled, and as time went on, I found out in many cases, they were doing the same jobs, working on the same projects, and actually making the same money that I was."
Douglas encouraged the crowd of high school students to consider College pathways to get not only a great education but also get an earlier start to their careers.
"There are several great options in post-secondary available to you, as you look towards your future. Information about post-secondary is more available to your generation than it was to mine," Douglas continued.
"So, if you want to keep playing robots as a career, after you graduate from high school, starting that path in a College program like mine at St. Clair College is a great place to start."
