More than 20,000 people attended the Student Technology Leadership Program State Championship at Rupp Arena in Lexington this week.
Students, educators, district edtech leaders, administrators, Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) staff and community members got to witness students from all over the state showcasing their technology projects.
Run by KDE’s Office of Education Technology, the Student Technology Leadership Program uses project-based learning, technology utilization and digital content creation to empower student achievement. Education leaders, volunteers and vendor partners help put on the annual championship event.
The 2025 STLP State Championship featured more than 500 K-12 schools from 107 school districts. Students competed in over 20 live challenges in areas such as coding, robotics and cinemania, which is a filmmaking competition where teams create short videos within 48 hours. These competitions allow students to test creativity, problem-solving and technical skills.
Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher said the program is a wonderful opportunity for students to have vibrant learning experiences, one of the central ideas in Kentucky’s United We Learn vision.
“Our students are getting hands-on experiences creating real-world projects and solving real-world problems as part of STLP,” Fletcher said. “These competitions encourage students to use technology to learn, lead and solve problems in creative and collaborative ways. Today we are seeing Kentucky’s future business and community leaders, and they are doing an excellent job.”
Two young men stand on one side of a small circular platform on a floor, across from two other young men, watching robots push each other.
More than 600 project teams presented their year-long, technology-based work built upon the Kentucky Academic Standards for Technology.
Students were judged in more than 24 creative digital arts categories, including animation, photography, podcasting, video production, 3D design, augmented reality and digital music.
KDE Associate Commissioner and K-12 Chief Information Officer David Couch said students demonstrated both their creative expression and technical mastery in digital storytelling.
“The STLP State Championship is a live look at what vibrant, authentic learning looks like,” he said. “This event celebrates the power of students as creators, leaders and problem-solvers in a connected world.”
Winning project teams from Boyd County, Jefferson County, and Russell Independent will represent Kentucky at the 2025 International Society for Technology in Education Conference in San Antonio, Texas.