This May, the seafront boulevard of Scheveningen will become the testing ground for some of Europe’s most advanced robots. The European Robotics League (ERL) — the continent’s foremost robotics competition — arrives in The Hague from 12 to 15 May 2026, bringing together international research teams, technology companies and curious members of the public for four days of live demonstrations, competition, and open debate about where robotics is headed.
The event is organised jointly by euRobotics and the Municipality of The Hague, with additional support from the Province of South Holland and the City of Rotterdam. With its blend of urban boulevard, pier, beach and sea, Scheveningen’s “Living Lab” environment offers an unusually demanding real-world stage — one where robots will be asked to navigate autonomously, assist in public spaces, and carry out tasks like inspection, logistics and monitoring. Think: autonomous maintenance robots inspecting the Scheveningen Pier, drones delivering a defibrillator to the beach, or smart delivery robots threading through pedestrian crowds.
Saxion students take the stage
Among the participants will be students from Saxion University of Applied Sciences, guided by Professor Abeje Yenehun Mersha, who leads the Smart Mechatronics and Robotics programme. Speaking on the sidelines of the European Robotics Forum in Stavanger, Mersha confirmed that multiple student groups are preparing to take part in several of the ERL’s competitive episodes — putting applied research into action in front of a live audience.
“The event is going to be a really nice platform,” Mersha said, “not only for the students who are taking part, but also for facilitating networking and inspiration — for people like us, for elementary school students, and for the general public — so that we can create a better perception of the possibilities and impact that robotics is creating in addressing the significant challenges we are facing right now and in the future.”
Saxion’s participation reflects a broader philosophy that Mersha has championed: that robotics education cannot be confined to university lecture halls. The team regularly showcases innovations developed in partnership with industry, combining robotics, artificial intelligence and mechatronics in applied research contexts.
The pipeline problem — and why it starts young
Behind the excitement of live robot demonstrations sits a more sobering reality: Europe is facing a serious shortage of people with technical backgrounds. It’s a challenge Mersha knows well. “One of the challenges we are actually facing right now is a shortage of people with a technical background,” he acknowledged, and it’s why events like the ERL matter beyond the competition itself.
The answer, in Mersha’s view, starts far earlier than most people assume. “We have to start investing at an early age,” he argues. “We need to give elementary school students all the opportunities to acclimatise themselves about technical education possibilities — and how technology is making a difference in addressing significant challenges.” Outreach programmes to primary and secondary schools are already a regular part of what Saxion does alongside its university-level curriculum, but Mersha is clear: waiting until higher education to catch people’s interest is too late.
Open to everyone
The ERL 2026 has been designed with this in mind. Alongside the competition itself, the programme includes educational workshops aimed at young people and students, and networking sessions for researchers and companies. Admission is free, and the event is explicitly framed as an invitation to the general public — not just the specialist robotics community. Discussions will address not only the technical opportunities of robotics but also the harder questions about when and how robots should be deployed in shared public spaces.
For Mersha and his students, that openness is exactly the point. The ERL is a chance to shift perceptions — to show schoolchildren, families and passers-by that robotics isn’t a distant, abstract technology, but something being built and tested right here on the Dutch coast, by people who started out exactly where they are now.
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