robotics

In a small village in Karnataka, students are being taught by Shiksha — a humanoid robot built by a young teacher who refused to accept outdated learning methods.

Five students from Bengaluru’s government schools, children of housekeepers and technicians, built a robot in their classroom. Now, they’re representing India at the 2025 FIRST Global Challenge in Panama — proving brilliance has no postcode.

From Tonk’s AI-driven maths lessons to Pune’s smart classrooms and rural kids building robots, frontier tech is rewriting how India’s children learn. It’s not just boosting scores but building confidence, creativity, and a future full of new possibilities.

Looking for a career path that’s anything but ordinary? From healing through music to solving climate challenges with science, Indian universities are now offering courses that break the mould. Here’s a look at fresh, future-ready options you may not have heard of — but should.

Meenal Majumder, a former senior vice president at ICICI Securities, founded The Innovation Story (TIS) to provide project-based STEM education to children from underserved communities and private schools. TIS empowers young minds with skills in robotics, AI, and coding, bridging the digital divide and preparing them for future success.

In a bold move to eliminate the dangerous and degrading practice of manual scavenging, a startup called Genrobotics has introduced the Bandicoot robot, a high-tech solution that removes humans from hazardous sanitation tasks, saves lives, and helps break the stigma surrounding this essential but stigmatised work.

Inspired by their grandmothers' mobility challenges, two Class 12 students from Mumbai, Rahi Shah and Hriday Boriawala, developed Walkfit — an innovative walking stick attachment that uses AI and pressure sensors to prevent falls among the elderly.

Teacher Maya Kamat demonstrated extraordinary dedication to her student Usha Kumawat's success in the Codeavour 5.0 AI Robo City Challenge. Together, they overcome many obstacles to ensure Usha's participation and eventual victory in Dubai.

Dr Tathagato Rai Dastidar explains the inspiration behind his medtech startup SigTuple, which has built an AI-enabled device to “revolutionise pathology” and help diagnose diseases earlier and with minimal human errors.

Odisha born Sakyasingha Mahapatra shares how his father’s devotion to science inspired him to embark on a mission to make robotics affordable to people in Odisha’s villages and create Sakrobotix Labs, a platform that won global recognition this year.