STEM in India
Taking FIRST robotics into rural Indian classrooms that had never seen a robot before.
Most students in rural Indian schools have no access to hands-on STEM. FIRST was virtually unknown in these communities.
- 01 Partnered with Village Technology Schools (VTS).
- 02 Introduced FIRST to 5,000+ students across 2 rural schools in Tamil Nadu.
- 03 Sent 13 3D printers, creating 2 makerspaces.
- 04 Started 2 FTC teams: 25228 and 25229.
- 05 Fully funded 2 teams — registration, parts, and travel.
- 06 Hosted multiple online bootcamps for robot building.
A community center, built with Nethralaya Foundation
Villupuram is a village community center we built in partnership with Nethralaya Foundation.
Classroom workshops
Lessons on circuits, microcontrollers like the NodeMCU (ESP8266), and the basics of analog and digital signals.
Hands-on builds
Students wiring breadboard circuits, working with an Arduino, and getting up close with a hand-built model plane.
3D printing
The printers we sent are in use: students learn how a 3D printer works, load filament, and watch parts come to life.
From outreach to the national stage
It started with getting kids interested, and grew into two FTC teams competing at the national level.
FTC outreach events
We began with FTC outreach events in schools and auditoriums, introducing students to robotics for the first time and getting them excited to build.
Two teams, one national championship
We then sent 2 FTC kits and started two teams. Both made it to the India National Championships in Goa, and we sponsored their trip. One of them also won the Rookie Team of the Year award.
Expanding our partnership with VTS to reach more districts and sustain the teams we have already started.