Monsanto commits $600,000 to sponsor student robot competition

Monsanto announced Wednesday that it is committing $600,000 to sponsor a student robotic design program for the next three years.

The company is underwriting the FIRST Championship, a high-profile competition for youth that starts next week in St. Louis, Missouri, where participants will design, build and program working robots.

FIRST Championship President Donald Bossi thanked Monsanto for its support of the championship.

“Due to its generosity, and that of the other FIRST Championship sponsors, we are able to deliver this life-changing event to students from around the world,” Bossi said.

Monsanto Vice President of Global Contributions and Employee Engagement Deborah Patterson said sponsoring the FIRST Championship is part of a company strategy to encourage young people to pursue careers in science technology, engineering and math (STEM).

“Like many companies, Monsanto views sparking young people’s interest and development in STEM as critical to meeting the needs of the future -- in a broad range of careers from food production to data science,” Patterson said. “Expertise in STEM is central to meeting the challenge of making a balanced meal accessible to everyone around the world, while protecting natural resources.”