9th Annual Engineering Competition Showcases Chicago Students’ Innovation in “Byte-Sized Servers – Smart Service Solutions“
Chicago, IL – Project SYNCERE will host its 9th annual ENpowered Games on April 28, 2026, at the UIC Forum. This year’s competition, themed “Byte-Sized Servers – Smart Service Solutions”, will bring together students from 12 Chicago-area schools participating in Project SYNCERE’s ENpowered Games Middle School Engineering Competition. The event will showcase student innovation in autonomous mobile robotics and explore how these technologies can transform the restaurant industry.
Student teams will present and demonstrate their designs for automated mobile robots developed for restaurant environments. Each team is tasked with programming Ozobot robots to efficiently navigate a simulated restaurant setting—picking up and delivering food to customers while safely avoiding obstacles.
The competition highlights the growing role of robotics in service and logistics industries, where precision, adaptability, and real-time problem-solving are critical. As teams test and refine their designs, the event offers a glimpse into the future of automation and its potential to reshape everyday operations in restaurants.
WHEN: Tuesday, April 28, 2026
- Welcome – 9:30 AM
- Project Presentations – 10:00 AM
- Team Quiz Challenge – 11:15 AM
- Lunch – 11:45 PM
- Awards – 12:15 PM
WHERE:
- Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum | University of Illinois Chicago
- 725 W. Roosevelt, Chicago
The ENpowered Games program is a collaboration between Project SYNCERE and local schools designed to build students’ interest and skills in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Through hands-on, engineering-based activities, students strengthen critical thinking, collaboration, and the engineering design process.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the culmination of months of hard work and dedication from these talented students,” said Adrianne Ball, Interim Executive Director of Project SYNCERE. “ENpowered Games showcases their creativity and problem-solving in a fun, competitive environment while inspiring them to pursue future opportunities in engineering and STEM.”
“We are proud to support Project SYNCERE and the ENpowered Games as a long-standing sponsor,” said Bernice Billups, executive director of Boeing Global Engagement. “The ENpowered Games, and other hands-on STEM activities and competitive events like these, are crucial in empowering students to explore their potential in engineering and technology.”
WHO: 12 Participating Schools:
- Calumet Heights – Amelia Earhart Elementary
- Grand Boulevard – Bronzeville Classical Elementary School
- Grand Boulevard – Holy Angels Catholic School
- North Lawndale – Charles Sumner Math & Science Community Academy
- North Lawndale – Chalmers STEAM Elementary School
- North Lawndale – Charles E. Hughes Elementary School
- North Lawndale – James Weldon Johnson STEAM Elementary School
- Chatham – James E. McDade Elementary Classical School
- East Side – Jane Addams Elementary School
- Washington Heights – Wendell E. Green Elementary School
- West Lawn – Mariano Azuela Elementary School
- Will County- Columbia Central Middle School
The ENpowered Games are made possible by the support of Project SYNCERE’s partners, including local schools, and corporate sponsors: UIC Chance, Chicago Public Schools, The Boeing Company, ComEd, an Exelon Company, Molex, the CME Group Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, Peoples Gas Community Fund, Dyson and the James Dyson Foundation, Jacobs Engineering, Steans Foundation, PepsiCo and Epstein Community Foundation.
Project SYNCERE is also proudly supported by a diverse group of partners, including the Vivo Foundation, Motorola Solutions Foundation, Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS), CBRE, Brinson Foundation, Inc., Comcast, The Rogers Family Foundation, Rossotti Family Foundation, Pritzker Traubert Foundation, Albert Pick Jr. Fund, Lenovo, Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), and many other generous individual and institutional donors.
Project SYNCERE (Supporting Youth’s Needs with Core Engineering Research Experiments) is a Chicago-based non-profit organization that prepares underrepresented students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Through innovative project-based programs, Project SYNCERE engages students in using technology and engineering-based principles to solve real-world problems. Founded in 2008, Project SYNCERE provides year-round programs that inspire and empower students to pursue their interests in STEM fields. www.projectsyncere.org.
Media Contact
Jessica West
773-982-8261 x210