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Djirikitj Firebirds home in Arnhem Land after VEX World Championships in Texas

09 June 2023
Children and Schooling
Four primary school aged Indigenous kids in yellow hoodies push a wheeled, black case with a robot on top. They're in a large hall surrounded by other kids.
Djirikitj Firebirds at the 2023 VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas.
Two Indigenous primary school kids in yellow uniforms compete against two kids from an Irish team, dressed in blue. Their robots are in the foreground of the photo.
Djirikitj Firebirds at the 2023 VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas.

The Djirikitj Firebirds are a primary school robotics team from the Dhupuma Barker School in Gunyangara, NT. They recently returned from the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas. Out of 800 schools competing at the top level of school robotics, the Djirikitj Firebirds earned a final ranking of 40th place in their division.

'3-2-1 Djirikitj Firebirds, yo!’ 

From a remote primary school in East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, six Yolŋu students travelled a world away to take on the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas.

Cyrus, Sean, Whitney, Justin, Andrew and Micayla make up the Djirikitj Firebirds.

The young team qualified from among 27,500 schools worldwide to make it to the 2023 championship competition. Out of 800 schools competing at the top level of school robotics, they ranked 40th in their division.

‘Robotics is fun,’ Firebirds member Cyrus said.

Cyrus and the team attend the remote Dhupuma Barker School in Gunyangara. The school has under 40 students and offers a bilingual education in Yolŋu and English.

Robotics was first introduced to Dhupuma Barker in July 2022 and the students quickly showed an aptitude for creative and innovative solutions to problems, loving the hands-on learning robotics offered. 

The students were invited to the national qualifiers in Sydney, where they placed fourth in Australia.

‘It made me happy, I got a medal and a drink bottle,’ said Sean.

That performance was enough to earn them a spot at the world championships on the other side of the world. The Djirikitj Firebirds are the first team to represent the NT at this elite level.

Dhupuma Barker competed in the VEX IQ Competition in the Science Division, where they design and pilot modular robots and battle against an opponent by launching discs into a scoring zone. 

‘We like collecting the discs and then shooting them into the zones to score points,’ Cyrus said. ‘I like beating the other teams.’

The team were excited to be overseas, but there’s no place like home. They’ve settled back into everyday life and are happy.

Djirikitj member Whitney had a wonderful time at the Championship, but was ready to return to Australia.

‘I missed my family in Gunyangara and was ready to go home.’

The team’s success has inspired them to keep working in robotics, with one team member, Sean, keen to pass on his skills at home.

‘When I grow up I would like to teach robots at Dhupuma Barker,’ said Sean.

The Firebirds are the first Yolŋu team to enter a robotics competition, compete nationally and qualify for the world championships.

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