From the MATE Website:

OVERVIEW
The MATE Center and the Marine Technology Society’s ROV Committee are
organizing the 7th annual MATE International ROV Competition. The event is being
hosted by Ridge 2000 at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of
California, San Diego in June 2008. The competition theme focuses on hydrothermal
vents found at mid-ocean ridges and the technologies used to study these deep-sea
environments.
Employers (industry, businesses, government agencies, and research organizations) and
working professionals are contributing to the event by donating funds, building materials,
equipment, and facilities in support of the competing teams. Working professionals are
also volunteering their time and technical expertise as mentors, technical assistants, and
competition judges.
GOALS
• To increase the awareness and visibility of marine technical fields, educational and
career opportunities, and potential employers.
• To help students develop the skills necessary to enter careers in technical fields.
These skills include the ability to work as a team, problem solve, think critically,
troubleshoot, communicate effectively, and manage projects.
• To connect students and educators with employers and working professionals.
Working professionals have the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience
as team mentors, complementing what students are learning in the classroom.
Employers have the opportunity to evaluate students as potential employees, and
students have the opportunity to explore potential careers.
• To increase students’ understanding of mid-ocean ridges and the biological, chemical,
geological, and geophysical oceanographic processes that drive them.

More information about the competition is available at the competition website, located here.