This award will be given to a mentor or engineer that has helped their students achieve goals that were seemingly out of reach. This individual is a role model, a leader and an extraordinary mentor who helps show students new ways to expand their knowledge and solve problems in the worlds of STEM. The recipient of this award will be nominated by the students on their team with a written submission detailing how the mentor inspires, motivates and educates students in a positive, enthusiastic and challenging atmosphere. At the World Championship, this award will be judged based on a 500-word online submission and subsequent team interviews.

The "Teamwork" is presented to a group of teams from a single school, or organization, that demonstrates a season-long commitment to cooperation, unity and mutual respect. The Teamwork award is presented to a school, or an organization, that has built a sustainable multi-team robotics program. This award recognizes a school, or a group of teams from a single organization, that demonstrates the ability to field multiple independent robotics teams which also work and collaborate together to enrich the experience of all students involved. At the World Championship, this award will be judged based on a 500-word online submission and subsequent team interviews.

This is the highest award presented in the VEX Robotics Competition. The recipient of this award is a team that exemplifies overall excellence in building a well-rounded VEX robotics program. This team excels in many areas and is a shining example of dedication, devotion, hard work and teamwork. As a strong contender in numerous award categories, this team deserves to be recognized for building a quality robot and a "team" committed to quality in everything that they do. To be eligible for the Excellence Award at the World Championship, teams must sign up for both Excellence Award and Design Award Presentations. Only teams that won a Excellence Award at a Local, Regional, or National event prior to April 1st are eligible to be interviewed.

The "Innovate" award is presented to a team that has demonstrated a strong combination of ingenuity and innovation in designing their VEX robot. This award will typically recognize a single, specific innovative machine feature, that was designed by thinking outside the box, resulting in a unique piece of engineering which forms an integral part of their engineering design solution to the complex problems presented by the VEX Robotics Competition game. At the World Championship, this award will be judged based on a 500-word online submission, a 30 to 60 second video, and subsequent team interviews.