Panaji, Jul 8: Five school students from Goa have been selected to represent India at the ‘FIRST Global Challenge 2026’, an international robotics competition to be held in Incheon, South Korea, in October, organisers said on Wednesday.
Goa team earns national honour
The five-member team, Tech Infinity, earned the honour after winning the Vikram Sarabhai Award for National Excellence at the Bharatiya Yantra Khel Mahotsav 2026, organised by the STEM Education Trust.
The team comprises Sparsh Swapnesh Verlekar, Dhruv Samir Salgaonkar and Soham Mahesh Redkar of Saraswat Vidyalaya, Mapusa, Avaneesh Devendra Phadte of Mushtifund High School, Cujira, and Anam Raza of Poddar International School, Old Goa.
Global robotics challenge
The FIRST Global Challenge, scheduled from October 7 to 10, brings together student teams from nearly 195 countries to design, build and programme robots based on a common global challenge, the organisers said.
This year’s theme, “Igniting Innovation”, focuses on using technology to reduce the risk and impact of fires while promoting environmental resilience, they said.
According to the organisers, the students, many of whom come from government-aided schools and middle-class families, secured their place on Team India after years of training in robotics, computer-aided design, Java programming, strategy and teamwork.
Students prepare for world stage
“They competed at national platforms, faced setbacks, learned from them and returned stronger. Their selection places them on a global platform alongside participants from nearly 195 nations,” the organisers said.
STEM Education Trust founder Gagan Goyal said the achievement reflected the vision of nurturing young innovators through hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education.
“These students don’t just compete; they return to teach, mentor and inspire the next generation. Supporting them is an investment in a movement,” he said.
Team mentor Anay Kamat said the students’ perseverance and willingness to learn had earned them a place on the world stage.
“I hope their journey inspires many more student teams across Goa and India, especially those guided by teachers and parents without formal coaching infrastructure,” he said.
Support for student innovation
The team acknowledged the support extended by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the state government towards promoting student innovation and robotics. The selection comes as the Goa government’s CARES scheme expands robotics education among school students across the state, said officials.
India has participated in the FIRST Global Challenge since its inception in 2017 and has won several recognitions for engineering design, innovation, collaboration, fundraising and safety. The 2025 Team India was represented by students from an Atal Tinkering Lab in Bengaluru, with the mantle now passing to Goa, the organisers said.
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