Society Spotlight: University of Canberra Robotics and Engineering Club - UC ROBO
UC ROBO, the University of Canberra’s Robotics Club, was founded in order to help robotics and engineering students feel supported and encouraged during their university experience. The President and founder of UC ROBO, Sharmelle, said there can often be a lot of assumed knowledge in engineering units and didn’t want students to become overwhelmed with content and think robotics was not for them. Starting in Semester two of 2025, they have built a community of over fifty students, with membership opportunities extending outside of just the UC campus. UC ROBO gives anyone the opportunity to learn in a welcoming environment, where experimentation and fun is at the core. After the previous engineering club died down at the start of Covid. The robotics course professor had encouraged the students to restart the club, and a group of them did.
The club’s goals are aimed at creating a community where everyone has the opportunity to feel comfortable sharing knowledge and asking for help. UC ROBO is not just for robotics students, they welcome everyone, whether you are in cybersecurity, tech, humanities or you are just passionate about the field, they are creating an encouraging space where all are invited to learn together. As the UC Batchelor of Engineering Honours - Intelligent Robotics Major course is currently ongoing changes, it now includes classes specifically targeting more specific areas of robotics such as computer vision and machine learning. Having a supportive club can help newer students to feel less stressed.
UC ROBO has an ongoing relationship with the Robotics faculty, where they receive opportunities such as volunteering for RoboCup Junior National Competitions. With the funding from the university’s old engineering clubs’ budget and the ongoing support and sponsorship from Engineers Australia, they also have collaborations with Australian National University (ANU), where they organise and participate in Battle Bot events and social nights. Members have also previously had the opportunity to judge high school robotics competitions.
They hope to continue hosting events and collaborate with other societies. The Vice President has been trying to start up a panel/conference with UC alumni of successful start-ups.
There are exciting new opportunities and events coming up, including external ones such as RoboNexus and international events. UC ROBO has been conditionally accepted to participate in the Capture the Flag event, where they will build two robots that will retrieve flags from a playing field. Once they complete the following rounds of interviews and reviews of their robots, they may receive a fully funded trip to compete in Saudi Arabia. The team is currently building their robots and a practice map in Workshop 7, the design building. While the capture the flag event has been postponed, they are continuing to build their robots and will await the (hopefully) good news.
On a day-to-day basis, they discuss course assignments, stem videos, memes and share all their progress on discord, which is also open for all to join. They like to think of themselves as the bridge between the students and funding from the university.
The space is a very supporting environment for both women and men, but women have been encouraged and welcomed to join the field. Even though it’s a male dominated subject, the committee members are aware that women are a minority in the field. Sharmelle herself has found a supportive environment and has helped create a community where all feel comfortable and are welcome to join.
While UC ROBO is only half a year old, they have already built a large, inspiring community and are looking to continue expanding. To join the club, it is $5 per member, you can find out more about them on Rubric, discord, Instagram (@uc.robo) and their website (ucrobo.org).