WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tomorrow, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry will travel to Mexico City to attend the 2018 FIRST Global Challenge. During his visit, the Secretary will also meet with both current and incoming Mexican government officials to discuss the continuity of strong bilateral energy partnerships between the United States and Mexico.

FIRST Global is a non-profit international organization that focuses on STEM related initiatives. The FIRST Global Challenge this year will focus on solving “energy-efficiency problems with robots created by student participants” hailing from more than 160 countries.

From FIRST Global: “More than 1000 high school students between ages 14 and 18 will represent their countries in the “Energy Impact” competition to improve the environment. Each team, consisting of up to five high school students, has a standard kit of parts to build a robot capable of feeding power plants to scale and build a transmission network in the most efficient way. National teams will be placed in randomly assigned alliances, which compete to achieve their goal and accrue points.”

Secretary Perry has elevated efforts at the Department of Energy (DOE) to promote STEM initiatives through STEM rising, a program with the mission of preparing and inspiring students, teachers, and the nation’s current workforce to pursue STEM education and careers.

Media interested in learning more about the Secretary’s visit to Mexico should contact DOEnews@hq.doe.gov and Shaylyn.Hynes@hq.doe.gov.