It starts with access — access to tools, access to people, access to opportunities, and access to the confidence that they can build something meaningful.

That belief is at the heart of QNX Everywhere, an initiative designed to make QNX technology, learning resources, and developer tools more accessible to students, developers, and innovators around the world. Through free online learning, hands-on resources, and a growing developer ecosystem, QNX Everywhere aims to help people discover embedded software not as something distant or abstract, but as something they can explore, understand, and apply.

It’s a mission that resonates deeply with Sal Trupiano, Senior Director of Engineering Services at QNX, who has spent more than a decade mentoring students through FIRST Robotics. What began in 2014, when his son joined a high school robotics team, has grown into a long-term commitment to helping students develop technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and confidence.

FIRST Robotics gives students from kindergarten through Grade 12 the chance to engage in STEM through robotics-based challenges. At the high school level, where Sal volunteers, the commitment is significant. During competition season, students may meet up to five days a week, working after school and on weekends to design, build, program, test, and refine their robots. The team for which Sal volunteers includes roughly 40 students, supported by a group of adult mentors who help guide the students through both technical and non-technical challenges.

But for Sal, mentorship is about much more than answering technical questions. While he supports the programming side of the team, he says the most important lessons often center on how students approach problems: how to break a challenge into smaller pieces, how to collaborate across teams, how to ask better questions, and how to keep going when nothing is working and a deadline is approaching.

"Working with mentors has not only helped me build new skill sets, but it has also given me the confidence to fail. I can pursue ideas and try new things knowing that I will be supported in both success and setback." — Roan B., Grade 10.

Those lessons are familiar to anyone who has worked in engineering. Technology rarely works the first time perfectly. Progress comes through iteration, persistence, and the willingness to learn from failure. In robotics, students experience that process firsthand. They see that success is rarely instant, and that real learning often takes time.

That idea also reflects the spirit of QNX Everywhere. Learning embedded systems, real-time operating systems, and the technologies behind software-defined vehicles, robotics, medical devices, industrial systems, and other mission-critical applications is not something that happens overnight. It takes curiosity, practice, and consistent access to the right resources.

"With so many different paths to pursue on our robotics team, I've been able to learn firsthand the importance of every contribution. No screw is too small or idea too far-fetched when it comes to being a member of FIRST." — Evelyn W., Grade 12.

As Sal Trupiano put it in conversation, “You have to start with access.” In the context of FIRST Robotics, that means access to equipment, tools, mentors, and a community of people willing to help students build skills, confidence, and resilience. In the context of QNX Everywhere, it means lowering barriers so that developers and students can explore QNX technologies through free online learning, documentation, workshops, hackathons, and ecosystem support.

Mentorship and accessible learning also create a multiplier effect. One of the most rewarding moments Sal described came when a student who had started with little programming experience became confident enough not only to contribute meaningfully, but to teach another student what he had learned. At that moment when a student becomes a peer mentor, it captures the long-term value of investing in learning communities.

"Sometimes one problem can have multiple answers, some of which may be better than others, and it's important to listen to everyone's view and ideas so that nothing is missed." — Andrew T., Grade 12.

The same principle applies across the QNX developer ecosystem. When experienced engineers share their knowledge, when resources are made freely available, and when students are invited into real-world technology conversations, the entire community grows stronger.

Mentorship is not just about helping someone solve today’s problem. It is about helping them build the mindset to solve tomorrow’s. Whether through FIRST Robotics, university projects, hackathons, online learning, or the QNX Everywhere initiative, every opportunity to learn, build, and connect helps prepare the next generation of embedded engineers.

The future of engineering will be shaped by those who have the chance to explore it.

Through QNX Everywhere, students have the power to shape the world. It all starts here.

Interested in learning more about QNX? Check out the QNX Everywhere program and download the free non-commercial license today.