We are thrilled to announce Team India for the FIRST Global Challenge 2025! This remarkable team represents the spirit of resilience, innovation, and aspiration. Comprising five brilliant students from government schools in Bengaluru, Team India has overcome significant barriers through the power of hands-on STEM learning.
Breaking Barriers Through STEM
These students, nurtured by the Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) at Government High School, 18th Cross, Malleswaram are ready to compete on the global stage of robotics and innovation. Each member carries a powerful story of seizing opportunities and reimagining what’s possible when the right support meets the right intent.
Team India is more than just a group of students; it’s a story of transformation, woven together by resilience, curiosity, and the shared belief that innovation should know no economic boundaries. These five students represent thousands of other young dreamers from underserved communities across India.
Collaborative Spirit and Unrelenting Drive
Each team member brings a distinct strength to the table—be it mechanical design, coding, electronics, or strategic thinking—but their collaborative spirit binds them. They have learned to think together, build together, and fail together, only to rise again with stronger ideas and greater synergy.
Their journey hasn’t been easy. Coming from homes where parents work as housekeeping staff, garment workers, and civil contractors, access to high-end technology or private coaching was never an option. But what they lacked in resources, they made up for in grit, curiosity, and an unrelenting drive to learn.
More Than Just a Robot
What makes Team India truly special is their balance of humility and hunger. These are not just students who want to “build a robot”—they are learners who want to understand why it works, how it can be made better, and what problem it can solve for society. Their conversations are filled with debates about gear ratios and sensor calibration, but also with laughter, cultural pride, and big dreams—dreams of becoming engineers, scientists, and change-makers.
Together, they have built more than a machine. They have built trust, communication, leadership, and a model of what inclusive innovation looks like. They are not just a team; they are a movement—a reminder that brilliance exists in every corner of our country, waiting for the right spark to ignite.
Team India is ready—not just to compete, but to inspire.
Rising Through the Coral Reef Challenge – How Team India Was Formed
The road to the FIRST Global Challenge wasn’t handed to these students—it was earned through hard work, teamwork, and an extraordinary display of problem-solving. The selection process for Team India centered around the Coral Reef Challenge, a simulation-based robotics task that required students to conceptualize, design, and build a robot capable of collecting coral samples – Seahorse and deposit into Coral Reef—demanding precision, reach, speed, and control. The challenge statement for Team India FGC 2025 https://stemeducationtrust.org/challenge-for-selection-of-team-india-for-fgc-2025/
The students began with what they knew: VEX kits-based prototypes. Their initial plan was to build a telescopic arm using a rack-and-pinion mechanism. However, they quickly discovered that real-world constraints—like bulky motors, inadequate torque, and limited lift range—made their original idea unviable. Rather than giving up, they pivoted. That failure became the foundation for deeper learning.
Drawing from the materials around them and their growing Maker skills, they designed a custom robot from scratch. Using Johnson motors, acrylic sheets from their school lab, and metal column bars, they developed a pulley-driven telescopic arm system. The structural parts were fabricated in-house using a 3D printer at the AFE Makerspace.
They then took on a bigger challenge—Arduino Mega integration with BTS7960 motor drivers, allowing for finer control of high-torque motors. The robot, once just an idea, became a fully operational prototype—app-controlled, modular, and competition-ready.
But it wasn’t just the technology that made them stand out—it was the way they collaborated. Ningaraj and Arjun led mechanical design and CAD modeling; Gouresh handled Arduino programming and app integration; Chandan brought the circuits to life with electronics work; and Parashuram, with an eye for control and intuition, became the team’s official driver and UI tester. Each member played their part, filled gaps for one another, and mentored each other along the way.
By solving the Coral Reef Challenge through innovation, grit, and synergy, this team earned more than a place at FGC—they earned each other’s trust, and the honor of representing a billion hopes on the world stage.
Meet the Team
Ningaraj – Grade 11
- School: Government PU College, 18th Cross, Malleshwaram
- Mother: Ms. Gowri – Housekeeping Staff
Raised by a single mother who works as housekeeping staff, Ningaraj’s story is one of pure perseverance. Ever since he could hold a screwdriver, Ningaraj has been fascinated by machines and the way they function. He dreams of becoming a mechanical engineer and is the mechanical backbone of the team.
Parashuram M. – Grade 11
- School: Government High School, 18th Cross, Malleshwaram
- Mother: Shanthamma – Garment Worker
- Father: Manjunath – Civil Contractor
Parashuram comes from a home where both parents work long hours to provide for their children’s education. Known for his patience and analytical mindset, Parashuram envisions a future in the robotics or automation sector and is a trusted engineer and thinker for Team India.
Arjun K Raj – Grade 11
- School: Government PU College, 18th Cross, Malleshwaram
- Mother: Uma D M – Urban Development Department
- Father: Kantharaju C B – Office Manager, Mega Miles Bearing Cups Pvt. Ltd.
Arjun’s journey is a beautiful blend of academic grit and athletic discipline. Introduced to STEM through the ATL Lab, Arjun found his true calling in robotics. He is the team’s dynamic executor—agile, sharp, and solution-oriented.
Gouresh K. – Grade 10
- School: Government High School, 18th Cross, Malleshwaram
- Mother: Ramya K – Homemaker
- Father: Ravi K – Stock Trader & Partner, Religare Broking Ltd.
Gouresh’s story is one of early inspiration turning into structured ambition. He became the team’s lead programmer, ensuring every servo and sensor is in sync. Gouresh represents the bridge between imagination and implementation.
G. N. Chandan Raj – Grade 9
- School: AVD High School, Karnataka
- Mother: Ramya B – Language Teacher (Kannada, Hindi)
- Father: G P Nagendra Kumar – Eye Technician
Chandan may be the youngest, but his talent is mature beyond his years. For Team India, he is the electronics brain—calm under pressure and always innovating.
The Pillars of Support
Atal Tinkering Lab, GHS Malleswaram – Where It All Began
The Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) at Government High School, 18 cross, Malleswaram, Bengaluru, established in October 2017, has become a national model for grassroots innovation. It stands today as a beacon of what’s possible when government school students are given a platform to dream, tinker, and lead.
Akhil Arun Menon – Mentor, Team India
Akhil Arun Menon is a passionate educator and technologist and the driving force behind Team India’s preparation for the FIRST Global Challenge. At the AFE Makerspace Lab in Bengaluru, Akhil leads student training in CAD, Arduino systems, electronics prototyping, and competitive robotics.
Amazon Future Engineer Makerspace – Powered by The Innovation Story
The Amazon Future Engineer Makerspace Labs, operated by The Innovation Story (TIS) in Bengaluru and Mumbai, serve as advanced innovation labs for government school students. These Makerspaces are equipped with 3D printers, drones, AI modules, and robotics kits.
The Innovation Story (TIS) – Engineering a Future for All
TIS is a national education innovation organization driving equitable STEM access. From training mentors to launching school-run satellite stations, TIS is rewriting what government school students can achieve—and Team India is living proof of that vision.
STEM Education Trust (SET) – FGC India Partners
The STEM Education Trust (SET) is a registered non-profit, non-government organization dedicated to transforming the educational landscape in India. With a mission to provide learning opportunities to students across the nation, particularly in under-represented communities, the SET is committed to bridging the gap and empowering the next generation through Robotics and STEM education. SET strongly believes in transforming the youth of today to become the leaders of tomorrow.
STEM Education Trust has been entrusted by FIRST Global to select Team India every year since 2017, the year when FIRST Global Challenge (FGC) first started.
STEM Education Trust is registered as a trust registered u/s 80G(5) of the I.T. Act 1961
Let us all wish Team India all the best as they prepare to compete and inspire on the global stage!