Team Mulan

In 2018, I started the first all-girls robotics team in China. I had been doing robotics for 3 years then, and I could count the number of girls doing robotcs in China I saw with two hands. At a competition that had about 200 people (FIRST Robotics regional), there were about 20 girls. So I started Team Mulan, taking the name after the legendary woman who fought in a battlefield full of men. Over the course of its active participation, Team Mulan has accumulated alumin of over 100 girls, influencing them to participate in STEM fields in college and beyond. Team Mulan competed internationall in FIRST Robotics Competitions and has won numerous awards (Rookie All-Star, Highest Rookie Seed, Rookie Inspiration, Finalist) and has advanced to the World Championships in 2019. More than competing with our robots, we have conducted speech for National Geographics and non-profit charity organizations focusing on education. We traveled to rural areas in China with our robot where resources are highly slanted towards sons not daughters and condcuted STEM classes with girls, meeting with local officials to address gender inequality in education.

Today marks the 6th year birthday of Mulan. I have found my family through this team who will come to my university graduation in ten days. Team Mulan is not just a robotics team, to me, it is my youth, a waving flag, something that makes me shine, it was Mulan’s battle in which I continued to fight.

2018

The following pictures were taken when we participated in our Robotics China Competition in summer 2018. We won Rookie All Star and was the highest ranking rookie team in the competition.

2019

In 2019 we traveled to Great Northern Regional in North Dakota, we won Rookie All Stars. I won the Dean’s list award. We also attended the Sacramento Regional and was the highest rookie seed, winning Highest Rookie Seed and Rookie Inspiration Award. We advanced to the world’s championship in Houston and saw the national flag raise on the field of FIRST Robotics for the first time since it’s inception.

At the Houston Championship, I met Dean Kamen for Dean’s list award.

Our merch has received storming poplarity from teams all around the world, bringing cuteness and diversity into the community of robotics. Our merch has ran out for distributing at worlds and we got emails from visitors at Worlds with compliments.

We travelled to rural areas of China where the scale of educational resources tips greatly towards sons not daughters, teaching girls that we as girls can drive the robots and make a difference in pursuing education. We have also designed and printed educational series books on our own, and donating them to primary schools in underpriviledged areas.

2020

The season that was most difficult for all teams, COVID. Competitions were canceled and gatherings were not allowed, making it impossible to work on the robot. However we diverted our attention online, conducting CADing classes for girls and outreach through more speech series, also starting the pink alliance for girls in robotics from other teams.

2021

International travel was still deterred under influence of COVID, we competed locally in China national robotics competition, winning finalist at the Robotics China Competition which is a summer regional of FIRST robotics competition. We won Finalist with two other teams.

2023

From Founder to Captain to Coach, with my girls, for my girls, as always.

Backstory

In 2016, on your 14th birthday, you flew to Hawaii for my first FIRST Robotics regional. At the pit loading day, I was so excited to couldn’t wait to the field. However, they only allowed 5 people and we were a 6 person team. The team coach said because I was the only girl I couldn’t be of much help lifting the robot and doing the dirty work. So I stood outside in the parking lot by myself for 3 hours while everyone else went in to help the team. I did not advocate for myself. I cried and called my mom. (as a 14 y/o would do).

FIRST Robotics teams have a complicated political structure, the core is the drive team, if you can make to the drive team, you’re at the heart of the team. It leaves no space for trial and error. Teams can’t afford to lose by having everyone who’s interested to drive the robot, the driver team needs to be consistent. And what I heard for really long was, boys are simply better at driving the robot from playing videos games. If I wanted to be on the drive team, I would only be the human player (the one that completes tasks such as feeding the robot a game piece or something).

Enough personal story. Fact was, I decided to start a new team. Most robotics teams were affiliated either with schools or with companies, but I wanted to start an all-girls team, not affiliated with any school, organization or company, just affiliated with our passions and equal capabilities in Robotics.

That sounds great Ningshan! But how do you start a team? You would need the people, the coaches, a space for working on the robot, and a whole lot of money from sponsors to build the robot!

Looking back it’s crazy how you managed to do it all, with friends and teammates, you got sponsors from both NGO and companies that supported women’s growth (United Technology Corporations).

(TO BE CONTINUED)