BHUBANESWAR: Shraavya Mishra, a Class XI student of PM Shree Kendriya Vidyalaya no-II, CRPF Campus, has been selected for the prestigious Sakura Science Exchange Programme - 2026, a collaborative initiative between the governments of India and Japan that aims to nurture young scientific talent and promote international collaboration among students.

Shraavya earned the recognition for her innovative assistive technology project I-SRAVIA, designed to enable two-way communication between the deaf and mute community and the hearing population.

The project uses an image-recognition neural network to interpret sign language and convert it into text or speech, while also translating spoken language into visual cues. With an easy-to-use and accessible interface, the system aims to break the ‘wall of silence’ that often separates hearing-impaired individuals from rest of the society.

Shraavya’s project received national recognition when she was awarded the INSPIRE-MANAK Award in 2024, an initiative of the Science and Technology department that encourages innovative ideas among school students.