What if you were given a brand-new AI robot and were tasked with teaching it how to become a helpful member of your school community? You might start by having it assist students with homework, organize a classroom, or help younger children learn new skills. But what happens if your robot copies someone’s bad habits, misunderstands social cues, or treats students unfairly? These are some of the challenges students will explore in the 2027 EngineerTeen Writing Contest.
The competition combines creative writing, engineering problem-solving, artificial intelligence, and ethical reasoning. Students do not need programming experience or an actual robot to participate. Instead, they will communicate their ideas through a written narrative and a visual storyboard.
1. What Is the EngineerTeen Writing Contest?
The EngineerTeen Writing Contest is an annual competition associated with the National Academy of Engineering, an independent, nonprofit institution established in 1964 that promotes and recognizes feats in the engineering field.
EngineerTeen builds on the work of EngineerGirl, an initiative that has spent more than two decades encouraging young people to explore engineering and understand its role in everyday life.
EngineerTeen challenges participants to be creative in incorporating engineering to real-world situations. Students are encouraged to identify problems, imagine practical solutions, investigate relevant scientific concepts, and communicate their ideas clearly.
Eligibility: The contest welcomes students from Grades 3–12, including international participants. Previous competitions have recognized winners across elementary, middle, and high school categories, where some selected work has been published on the official website.
Official competition website: https://www.engineerteen.org/23545
85% of Aralia Students Place in Top Writing Competitions
2. What Is the 2027 EngineerTeen Writing Contest Theme?
The 2027 theme is “How to Train Your Robot,” which asks students to imagine training an AI-powered robot to become a safe, fair, and helpful learning partner.
The scenario begins with a robot entering a familiar learning environment, such as a classroom, library, music studio, sports program, or home. The robot has certain abilities, but it does not yet understand an environment’s routines, expectations, or social interactions.
Students must explain how they would train the robot through observation, practice, pattern recognition, and feedback. They also need to consider how the robot might misunderstand human behavior and discuss the measures they would employ to prevent it from developing harmful or unfair habits.
Why Does the 2027 Theme Focus on AI Safety and Fairness?
As AI systems seep into education and daily life, engineers must consider how these technologies mirror human behavioral patterns. AI systems can reproduce inaccuracies or biases present in the information they receive. A system trained on incomplete examples may make unreliable decisions when it encounters unfamiliar situations. Similarly, a robot that optimizes one goal, such as completing tasks quickly, may overlook other aspects, such as safety, privacy, or equal treatment.
The EngineerTeen prompt introduces these challenges in a format appropriate for different ages. Younger students might explore how a robot learns good and bad habits, while high school participants can examine more complex questions about training data, bias recognition, human oversight, and the consequences of automation.
3. Requirements by Grade Level
The 2027 EngineerTeen Writing Contest accepts students in Grades 3–12 with four grade categories. Each category has its own writing prompt, word limit, and research requirements. All four categories require students to create a written narrative and a 4–10-panel storyboard.
Grade Level | Official Writing Prompt | Word Limit | References |
Grades 3–4 | What happens in my learning place every day? | Up to 800 words | Not required |
Grades 5–6 | What patterns would a robot see if it watched my class/activity every day? | Up to 1,000 words | Optional, maximum 5, APA format |
Grades 7–9 | What might a robot notice that a human would understand differently? | Up to 1,200 words | Required, maximum 8, APA format |
Grades 10–12 | What are the tricky or unfair situations a robot might misunderstand in real life? | Up to 1,200 words | Required, maximum 8, APA format |
Grades 3–4: Everyday Activities, Good Habits, and Bad Habits
Students must choose a real place where they learn and explain what happens there each day. They should describe how a robot behaves in that environment and what tasks it can perform to help others.
Their writing must identify at least one good habit and one bad habit the robot could learn by observing people. Students should also explain what they would do if the robot made a mistake and introduce a basic idea related to safety or fairness.
For example, a student could imagine a robot responsible for distributing art supplies. After observing several classes, the robot might learn to give supplies first to students who raise their hands most quickly. The student could then explain how to teach it to recognize students who have been waiting longer.
Grades 5–6: Patterns, Learning Methods, and Misunderstandings
Students in Grades 5–6 must explain how a robot identifies patterns within a familiar learning environment and how those patterns influence its behavior.
Their narrative should describe what the robot is supposed to learn, why those skills are useful, and how the student would teach them. Training methods might include demonstrations, explanations, examples, and corrective feedback.
This category introduces an important idea in AI development: a system that can identify a relationship between two events without understanding whether one actually explains the other.
Grades 7–9: Human Interpretation, Bias, and Responsible Design
Students in Grades 7–9 must explore the distinctions between a robot and a human’s interpretations of a situation and how these misunderstandings could affect other people.
Participants should describe the robot’s learning process and provide a specific example of what it observes, what it incorrectly concludes, and why a human would interpret the situation differently. They must also examine ethical issues such as fairness, privacy, or equal treatment and suggest practical measures engineers could use to improve the robot’s design.
Grades 10–12: Complex AI Decisions and Engineering Trade-Offs
High school participants are expected to examine more complex problems involving AI training, decision-making, and ethics.
Their narrative should identify a specific problem the robot is designed to solve and describe how its skills necessarily address the said problem. Students must also analyze unintended behaviors, biases, and situations where different engineering goals come into conflict.
For example, imagine a robot designed to personalize tutoring by observing how students study, where they make mistakes, and how quickly they complete assignments. Collecting more data might improve the robot’s recommendations, but it could also raise privacy concerns. If the robot relies too heavily on past performance, it might underestimate a student’s ability to improve.
Aralia Students Are 4x More Likely to Publish a Research Paper
What Do Students Need to Submit?
Every 2027 EngineerTeen entry must include two components: a written narrative and a visual storyboard.
The narrative explains the robot’s purpose, abilities, learning process, and potential problems. The storyboard illustrates important moments in that learning process.
Part 1: Written Narrative
The written narrative is the primary explanation of the student’s robot and training approach. Students must introduce their learning environment, describe the robot’s abilities, and explain the activities or skills they want it to learn.
Depending on the grade category, the narrative should address how the robot observes people, learns new behaviors, responds to mistakes, and develops habits. Older students must incorporate relevant research and engineering considerations related to safety, fairness, privacy, and responsible AI design.
Part 2: Storyboard
Students must submit a storyboard containing 4–10 panels that illustrate significant moments in the robot’s learning journey.
The storyboard may be hand-drawn or digitally created. Accepted formats are PNG, JPG, and GIF, and the file must not exceed 3 MB.
A useful storyboard might show the robot entering its learning environment, observing human behavior, making an incorrect assumption, receiving feedback, and exhibiting corrected behavior.
4. Contest Deadline and Eligibility
The submission deadline for the 2027 EngineerTeen Writing Contest is February 1, 2027, at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST). Students in China should note that this corresponds to February 2, 2027, at 12:59 PM Beijing Time.
5. How Are EngineerTeen Writing Contest Winners Recognized?
Selected winning entries are published on the competition’s website, giving students a chance to share their ideas with a broader audience.
Previous competitions have featured projects addressing everyday technologies, engineering challenges, and the social implications of new inventions. Students can explore the 2025 EngineerTeen Writing Contest winners to see how earlier participants communicated their engineering ideas.
6. How to Prepare for the 2027 EngineerTeen Writing Contest
Start With a Specific Problem in a Familiar Environment
Students should first identify a real problem they have observed. A robot that can perform every classroom task may sound exciting, but that broad concept makes it difficult to explain how the robot learns or what specific challenges it encounters.
A specific aim might involve helping students organize shared laboratory equipment, assisting beginners during music practice, or ensuring that everyone receives opportunities to participate in group activities.
Students should observe their chosen environment and identify the behaviors, decisions, and interactions that a robot would need to understand.
Explain How the Robot Learns
Students should also explain how the robot receives information and how it influences its behavior.
For example, imagine a robot designed to help students improve their basketball skills. If the robot observes only experienced players, it might assume that every student can handle the same advanced techniques.
A thoughtful submission would examine how the robot could recognize different ability levels, receive feedback from coaches, and adjust its training recommendations.
The explanation should be appropriate to the student’s grade level. Younger participants might focus on simple demonstrations and corrections, while older students could investigate concepts such as training data, pattern recognition, algorithmic bias, and human oversight.
Give the Robot a Meaningful Mistake to Learn From
A robot that performs perfectly from the beginning leaves little opportunity to explore the competition’s central challenge. Students should consider a plausible situation in which their robot misunderstands its environment or develops an unintended habit.
The mistake should connect directly to the robot’s purpose rather than appearing as a random complication in the story.
For instance, a robot designed to help students complete homework might notice that students receive positive feedback when they finish assignments quickly. It could mistakenly prioritize speed over careful reasoning.
This creates an opportunity to discuss how the robot could be retrained to recognize accuracy, effort, and understanding rather than measuring success solely by completion time.
Consider Fairness and Safety From the Beginning
Fairness and safety are central to this year’s prompt, particularly for older students. A robot might learn from incomplete information, favor certain behaviors, misunderstand cultural or social differences, or collect more personal information than necessary.
Students can strengthen their writing by identifying one of these risks and explaining how to prevent or reduce it.
For older participants, this might involve investigating how AI systems are trained and why automated decisions sometimes produce unintended outcomes.
A strong narrative should demonstrate that engineering is not simply about making technology work. It also involves assessing how that technology affects the people who use it.
Plan the Storyboard Alongside the Narrative
Because the 2027 contest requires both written and visual components, students should develop them together rather than treating the storyboard as a final illustration exercise.
Before drafting the complete narrative, students can identify several important moments in the robot’s learning process. These might include its introduction to the learning environment, an early observation, a misunderstanding, corrective feedback, and a later demonstration of improved behavior. Students should then decide which ideas require detailed written explanations and which would be more effective when shown visually.
A storyboard does not need to repeat every sentence of the narrative. Instead, it should help readers understand the robot’s learning experience by making important changes in its behavior visible.
7. Is the EngineerTeen Writing Contest Right for You?
EngineerTeen may appeal to students interested in STEM subjects who also enjoy writing, storytelling, or visual creativity.
Its interdisciplinary format makes it accessible to students with no background in programming or robotics but who are curious about how technology works and how it affects society.
Younger students can use the competition to practice observation, creative thinking, and basic problem-solving. Middle school participants can begin exploring the relationship between technological systems and human behavior. High school students can investigate more complex questions involving AI development, engineering ethics, and responsible innovation.
The experience can also help students discover whether they enjoy approaching problems from an engineering perspective: identifying an issue, exploring possible solutions, considering limitations, and improving an initial design.
1-on-1 EngineerTeen Writing Contest Preparation
For students interested in the 2027 EngineerTeen Writing Contest, Aralia offers 6 hours of 1-on-1 instruction for the written portion of the competition. Instructors work with students to explore their ideas, develop a thoughtful approach to the AI-focused prompt, conduct relevant research, and shape their ideas into a well-structured narrative.
Meet Our Instructors
Instructor P:
- Former English teacher at a top U.S. Boarding School.
- Guided students to earn multiple Very High Commendations and High Commendations in the John Locke Essay Competition.
- Mentored students whose work was published in The Concord Review, a highly selective academic history journal with an approximately 5% acceptance rate.
Guided students to earn multiple Gold Key awards in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
Instructor R:
- Current university English lecturer in the United States.
- Has served as a judge for multiple international writing competitions.
- Guided students to earn multiple Very High Commendations in the John Locke Essay Competition.
What Does 1-on-1 Preparation Cover?
Understanding the Prompt and Developing Ideas
Work through the requirements for the student’s grade-level category and identify a clear direction for the essay. Instructors help students develop their own robot concept and determine how best to explore the central ideas of the prompt.
AI Research and Critical Thinking
Identify credible sources and explore relevant concepts in artificial intelligence, including how AI systems learn, recognize patterns, and make decisions. Students also examine potential misunderstandings, biases, and ethical considerations.
Writing and Argument Development
Develop a well-organized narrative with clear reasoning and thoughtful analysis. Instruction focuses on the structure of the essay, the development of ideas, and precise academic English.
Individualized Feedback and Revision
Receive detailed feedback on independently written drafts, with attention to the clarity of ideas, strength of analysis, organization, and language. Students retain ownership of their research, ideas, and final submissions.
All instruction is designed to support students’ independent thinking and original work, in accordance with the competition’s rules on originality and AI use.
