Historic Achievement: Goan Students Secure Three International Awards at WSRO Robotics Championship in UAE

Historic Achievement: Goan Students Secure Three International Awards at WSRO Robotics Championship in UAE
UAE GOA – February 6, 2026 – Making history for the state on a global platform, three student teams from Goa have secured top honors at the World STEM & Robotics Olympiad (WSRO) 2025-26 Internationals. The competition, held at the Manthena American School in Sharjah, UAE, on January 31, 2026, saw participants from nations including India, Iran, and the UAE.
Out of the five teams that qualified from Goa, four traveled to the UAE to compete. In a remarkable display of technical skill, three of these teams won prizes in their respective categories, marking a 75% success rate for the Goan contingent. The students secured awards in three distinct competitions: Line Follower Jr., Industry 4.0, and Young Scientists Energy (Algorithms).
This achievement underscores a significant milestone for STEM education in Goa, showcasing how students from both urban centers and village schools are mastering advanced technologies like CAD design, 3D printing, and algorithmic coding.
Young Prodigy Takes 4th in Industry 4.0
Vedang Anay Kamat, a 5th Standard student from Saraswat Vidyalaya, Mapusa, secured the 4th Prize in the highly competitive Industry 4.0 category.
Vedang’s robot, designed to execute precise “pick and place” tasks along with camera operated AI-ML missions, utilised ‘Quarky’ as its brain, with coding executed in Pictoblox. Demonstrating engineering maturity beyond his years, Vedang made the robot’s structure and actuators using LEGO parts and 3D-printed components modelled in Fusion360. His robot completed all missions with consistent accuracy, requiring minimal tuning at drop points. Vedang was mentored by his parents, Mr. Anay Narendra Kamat and Mrs. Maya Anay Kamat.
History for Chorão: Advanced Robotics from the Island
Making history for his village, Master Ian Calisto Nunes, a 10th Standard student at St. Bartholomew’s High School, Chorão, became the first student from the island to receive international recognition in robotics. Ian won the Special Award (5th Prize) in the Young Scientists Energy – Algorithms category.
As part of the Goa-2-Mars robotics education program, and under the mentorship of Vincent Toscano (Managing Partner, Uzoorba Technologies LLP), Ian developed an advanced mobile robotic rover. The robot featured a six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) robotic arm focused on algorithmic energy efficiency. His work featured high-precision mechanical CAD in Autodesk Fusion 360 and custom 3D-printed parts—a level of engineering rarely seen at the high school level.
Pedne School Shines in Line Follower Jr.
In a testament to the quality of technical education in rural Goa, the team from Pragya High School (Devsu–Korgao, Pedne) secured the 3rd Prize in the Line Follower Junior competition.
The winning trio, comprising Manish Mahadev Gawandi, Nirbhay Manoj Talkar, and Mayank Sandeep Kavathankar, showcased outstanding consistency throughout the event. Before clinching the third prize in the finals, the team displayed dominance by securing First Place in all four preliminary rounds of the competition.
Mentored by their computer teacher, Mr. Prasad Gadekar, this victory highlights a growing trend of school faculty leading students to global success. It marks the second time a Goan team mentored by a school computer teacher has won internationally, following the 2024 success of a student mentored by Maya Kamat (Progress High School, Panjim) at Codeavour 5.0 in Dubai.
A Milestone for Goan STEM
These victories highlight the potential of Goan students when provided with strong mentorship, access to modern tools like 3D printing and CAD, and parental support. The success of students from Mapusa, Chorão, and Pedne demonstrates that world-class technical talent is being nurtured across the entire state.
About WSRO The World STEM & Robotics Olympiad (WSRO) is a premier international platform that encourages students to develop skills in robotics, coding, and automation, preparing them for the technological challenges of the future.