Who: Representatives from Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA), Auburn University’s Southeastern Center of Robotics Education (SCORE), Montgomery Public Schools, Autauga County Schools, and Selma City Schools.
When: Thursday & Friday January 22-23, 2026
9:00 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. (lunch break taken 11:30 – 12:00 each day)
- Thursday, January 22: Autauga County Schools and Selma City Schools
- Friday, January 23: Montgomery Public Schools
Where: Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama Training Center
900 Hyundai Blvd, Montgomery, AL 36105
What: Since 2019, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama has teamed up with Auburn University’s Southeastern Center of Robotics Education (SCORE) to start the Hyundai Initiative for Robotics Excellence (HIRE). The goal of HIRE is to establish robotics teams at public schools to seed the next generation of a technically proficient workforce. HMMA’s total investment in local robotics education is over $500,000.
HMMA will host its fifth annual middle school robotics competition on Thursday and Friday, January 22-23, 2026. The competition will pit local schools’ robotics teams and their student-created robots against one another in skills trials, engineering notebook judging, qualifying matches, and championship matches. Engineering team members from HMMA will serve as judges. A total of 285 students from Autauga County Schools, Selma City Schools, and Montgomery Public Schools will compete across the two-day tournament.
Representatives from HMMA and from SCORE will be available for interviews during the event. Please contact Scott Posey to confirm if a representative from your respective media outlet will be able to attend this event.
