World robotics champions honored in Parliament; five students in Criuleni won three medals
The students from the Enigma team, who represented the Republic of Moldova at the FIRST Global Challenge 2026 World Robotics Championship, were applauded during a plenary session of Parliament. The young people from the village of Boșcana, in the Criuleni district, won one gold medal and two silver medals at the competition held in South Korea, which featured teams from over 190 countries.
Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu highlighted the students' achievement on Thursday, October 29, at the start of the parliamentary session, congratulating the young people and their mentors.
"Are there any medals left over there? None left? Excellent—they’re all coming home!" joked Igor Grosu, as the Members of Parliament applauded the success of the students from Boșcana.
The Enigma team consists of five students: Daniel Țanga, Uliana Vîntu, Gabriel Josan, Valeria Untilă, and Augustin Leșan. Mentors Elena Frunză and Veronica Eșanu guided the students.
The team achieved this success at the FIRST Global Challenge 2026 competition, held October 6 to 10 in Incheon, Republic of Korea.
An alliance of the Republic of Moldova, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and El Salvador won the gold medal in the international robotics tournament.
Two silver medals were awarded: one for the robot's engineering design and another for the innovative Ember Mesh project, developed for the early detection of forest fires.
The invention utilizes autonomous, sensor-equipped capsules that can be deployed in forests—including via drones—to identify the risk of fire outbreaks at an early stage.
Four members of the Enigma team attend the "Mihai Stratulat" Theoretical Lyceum in Boșcana, while Daniel Țanga is a student at the "Boris Dînga" Theoretical Lyceum in the town of Criuleni. ***
The Republic of Moldova has been participating in the FIRST Global Challenge since 2017 and has earned several international awards over the years.
With this year's medal, the country’s total tally has reached nine gold medals.
