FIRST Robotics is an organisation in the US, Canada, the UK, and many other countries. It is a group of school teams, usually high school based. These high school teams compete in robotics, using engineering, coding, and mechanics. The coding, for example is done is in PBASIC
Much of what the team does is student driven, but the robots are usually externally funded. The initative is supposed to be the student's, but much is actually done by the adult members.
That is a sad fact of bureacracy. The organisation was founded by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the human transporter. The goal is "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology"
Another goal is to inspire young people work in industry and technology.
For more info, see www.usfirst.org