TEHRAN – A team of three Iranian students won two silver medals at the 9th edition of the First Global Challenge (FGC), an international Olympic-style robotics competition, held in Panama from October 29 to November 1.
The First Global Challenge is held in a different country each year. FIRST Global is inviting countries to send teams to build and program competitive robots.
Games themed around some of the biggest challenges facing the planet, such as Engineering’s 14 Grand Challenges, allow teams to work together to complete tasks, promoting understanding and collaboration among the world’s youth as they use their abilities to solve the world’s problems.
Its main objective is to inspire leadership and innovation among young people everywhere by empowering them through education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, known as STEM.
Based on the theme of ecological balance and focusing on biodiversity, the 2025 FGC brought together students from 191 countries for the world’s most international robotics challenge.
This year’s challenge challenged participants to pilot robots within a rich simulated world to carefully restore habitats, maintain ecological balance, and protect endangered species, highlighting the delicate systems that support our planet and the critical role innovation plays in its survival.
The Iranian robotics team consisted of Mohammad Montazeri, Mehdi Montazeri, and Saleh Azizi. Their project, titled “PyroGuard,” is a system developed based on the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) for forest fire prevention, early detection, and response through real-time analysis of thermal anomalies and environmental sensing.
This remote control system can also monitor soil and vegetation temperature and send smart alerts.
The team won two silver medals for new technology experience and courageous achievements at awards called the Innovator Award and the Raja Cherkaoui El Moursli Award.
In 2024, Iran won a silver medal in the Engineering Documentation category (Katherine Johnson Award) and a bronze medal in the New Technology category (Experience Innovator Award).
Environmental conservation awards
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) awarded the country two awards at the World Conservation Congress: the Reverse the Red Award and the 2025 International Ranger Award.
The conference was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE from October 11th to 15th.
Reverse the Red is a global movement calling for strategic cooperation and action to ensure the survival of wild species and ecosystems and reverse negative trends in biodiversity loss.
Iranian Ambassador to Abu Dhabi, Reza Ameri, received the award on behalf of the country.
The IUCN WCPA has awarded 13 rangers and ranger teams with the 2025 International Ranger Awards, recognizing their exceptional dedication to nature conservation.
The International Ranger Awards aim to celebrate the courage, resilience and perseverance of rangers around the world. We provide winners with funding to showcase their achievements, raise public awareness of the importance of such professionals, and support the lands they protect.
Iran is the first country in West Asia to receive this award. The Saivar National Park and Southern Parvar Reserve ranger team (9 members) in Semnan province was commended for decisively overcoming social and ecological challenges to advance conservation.
As reported by doe.ir, Azin Saidi received the award on behalf of Rangers.
Additionally, Behzad Kiasi, a faculty member at the University of Tehran, received the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Young Scientist Award for his project entitled “Development of a sustainable hydrotourism model in Miankale Biosphere Reserve, Iran”.
This year, 11 young researchers from around the world, including Morocco, China, Congo, the United States, Brazil, Ghana, and Algeria, received the MAB Young Scientist Award for their outstanding efforts and contributions.
The award announcement was made during the 37th meeting of the MAB International Coordination Council (ICC) in Hangzhou, China, following the 5th Global Summit of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves held from September 22 to 26.
MT/MG