Registration and selection

Eligibility criteria

Focus on European teams

BFMC 2027 is focused on European teams.

A team is considered a European team if the academic institution it represents (the institution of the team’s mentor) is located in one of the following countries:

  • European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

  • Other countries: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

This list is exhaustive. Institutions located in any other country are not European institutions for the purpose of this regulation, regardless of their geographical position.

Teams that are not European teams may participate only in the following cases:

  • The team reached the finals of the 2026 edition and meets the wild card criteria (see Wild cards below).

  • The team is invited by the organising team.

Teams that are not European teams cannot apply on their own initiative. Teams from the 2026 finals register through the registration form, within the registration period (see Wild cards). Invited teams receive the registration instructions directly from the organising team.

General criteria

The team leader and all team members must be students enrolled in a higher education institution (bachelor’s or master’s programme) or in a recognised development programme (e.g., https://seame.space/). PhD students and above can take part only as mentors. The requirements for the mentor are described under Team structure.

Each participant may be part of only one team, including the mentor.

Team structure

1 Team Leader (mandatory)

1 Mentor (mandatory)

2-4 Team Members

Team Leader (mandatory) - Must be a student enrolled in a higher education institution (bachelor’s or master’s programme) or in a recognised development programme.

  • Roles (main ones):

    • Acts as the liaison between the team and the organisers.

    • Must be familiar with the state of the project and ensure compliance with regulations.

    • Ensures that all team deadlines are met.

Mentor (mandatory) - Must be an active academic or research member of the university, ranging from PhD students and researchers up to professors.

  • Roles (main ones):

    • Guide the team through the entire project without directly developing it.

    • Help out in case the team gets stuck on some topics.

    • Offer mentorship where needed.

Team Members

Each team must have a minimum of 2 (two) and a maximum of 4 (four) team members, in addition to the team leader and the mentor. A team therefore has 3 to 5 students in total (the team leader and 2-4 team members), plus the mentor. The members must be students enrolled in a higher education institution (bachelor’s or master’s programme) or in a recognised development programme.

The following roles may help the team achieve the desired results if performed correctly:

  • Software Engineer (2 people recommended, max 4)

    • Roles:

      • Programming the autonomous functions of the vehicle.

      • Ensuring that all data is used properly, and the code runs in real-time.

      • Real-time monitoring and debugging.

      • Integrating V2X functions.

      • Ensuring robustness and redundancy.

  • Electrical/Electronics/Mechatronics Engineer (recommended)

    • Roles:

      • Integrating and using sensors and motors.

      • Microcontroller programming.

      • Communication protocols.

      • Understanding vehicle mechanics.

      • PCB design and integration.

      • Vehicle control theory.

  • AI/DL/ML Engineer (recommended)

    • Roles:

      • Developing and training models for perception, object classification, and scene understanding.

      • Optimising the models.

Registration

When: From 1 October 2026 to 31 October 2026, 23:59 Romanian local time (EET).

The team application form must be filled out and submitted by the team leader through the registration form available on the competition website. The team leader must create an account on the website and register the team by providing all required data, including information about all team members.

The following should be considered:

  • Only the team leader should create an account during the registration period.

  • Account creation and the registration form will be available only during the registration period. The rest of the team will be invited to the website by the team leader if the team is accepted.

  • All accounts and data of teams that are not selected will be deleted before the start of the challenge.

Interview phase

When: From 9 November 2026 to 20 November 2026, Romanian local time (EET).

A first screening will take place, and the organisers will individually contact the teams that pass this stage for an online interview.

The interview will be conducted with the entire team, and the interviewer will analyse the team as a whole rather than its individual members. Selection criteria will include, but are not limited to:

  • Motivation and goals of the team.

  • Links between the competition topics and the personal or university projects of the team members.

  • Proven interest in and experience with similar contests.

  • Team synergy.

Wild cards

Teams that reached the finals in the previous edition (2026) are admitted to the current edition without an interview, provided they register for the new edition.

For a team to receive a wild card, it must meet the following criteria:

  • Have the same name as in the previous edition.

  • Have the same mentor as in the previous edition.

  • Have at least one member from the previous edition.

For exceptional cases (such as a different mentor or a different team name), an email explaining the change should be sent to the organising team via the communication channel. The organisers will reply to confirm whether the team is eligible for the wild card.

Acceptance

When: 20 November 2026, Romanian local time (EET).

Each team will be contacted with the result (acceptance or rejection). A list of next steps will be provided to the selected teams. At this point, the kits will either be dispatched or made available for collection at the Kick-off meeting.

Kick-off meeting

When: 26 November 2026, Romanian local time (EET).

This event marks the start of the competition. For teams located near the Bosch Centres involved in the challenge, the meeting will be held physically; otherwise, it will be held online. If a team joins online, the kit will be sent via courier; if attending in person, it will be handed out at the Bosch location.

During the meeting, members of the organising team will introduce themselves to the selected teams. The exact schedule of the competition will be presented, along with information about the provided platforms and how to access them. At the end of the meeting, there will be a question-and-answer session to allow participants to clarify any uncertainties.

Prior project development

When: By 3 December 2026, Romanian local time (EET).

The team leader must create accounts on the website for all team members, ensuring they have access to all competition documentation and features.