Indian-Origin Students Help UAE Win Gold At 'Olympics Of Robotics'

A United Arab Emirates (UAE) team, represented by Indian-origin students, has won the gold medal at the 2025 FIRST Global Challenge. It's also called the "Olympics of Robotics".

The prestigious competition was held in Panama City from October 28 to November 1, with teams from over 190 countries participating.

This marks the first time in 36 years that the UAE has claimed the top prize at the global robotics event.

The winning team had Riya Mehra, Aarya Parekh, Aarush Pancholi, Aditya Anand, Krithin Satya, Simran Mehra, Sreya Binoy Nair, and Aryan Goyal. All of them are students of Indian heritage studying in UAE schools.

During a celebratory event in Dubai on Saturday, Team Captain Aarush Pancholi said, "This win is the result of endless teamwork, dedication, and the desire to build something meaningful for the planet."

Their gold-winning project, 'STASH', is an innovative bio-preservation system that protects endangered species such as the Ghaf tree without the need for freezing or electricity.

They used a special jelly-like material called sodium alginate hydrogel to safely store and preserve plant cells. To make the process even better, they used AI tools to study the cells and created a 3D-printed kit that can be used outdoors.

Experts from MIT and Lam Research were extremely impressed with the idea and praised the students for creating a simple, low-cost, and scientific solution that can help save important species.

"We are proud not just of the medal, but of creating a solution that can truly make a difference for biodiversity and communities worldwide," Pancholi added.

Muhammed Mukhtar, the group's coach, said, "This victory is a testament to the extraordinary dedication and ingenuity of our young innovators. They have made the nation proud and shown that UAE students can compete at the highest level on the global stage."

The First Global Challenge started in 2016. It was created by Dean Kamen, a well-known US entrepreneur and engineer. He is famous for inventing the Segway Human Transport device.