These students from Leap Robotics Hyderabad won big at the International Youth Robot Competition. Here's how

International Youth Robot Competition (IYRC), which was conducted in Thailand from November 30 to December 1, served as a battleground for young tech enthusiasts. And five students of Leap Robotics, a centre which offers STEM training in Hyderabad, participated and won laurels for themselves and the country. “Parents ensure that children study in the best schools so that they can grasp the fundamentals of engineering and yet, they lack this knowledge,” says Satyanarayana M, Founder and CEO, Leap Robots. And to fill this vacuum, Leap Robotics stepped into the scene in October 2016. Roopak Houji, one of the mentors at Leap Robotics gives us an insight into the toil that went on behind the scenes to prepare for IYRC. “After conducting the ability tests and selecting candidates, we spent four hours with them every day,” says the 23-year-old. Bharat, Gautam, Soham and Kuladeep won the second place in the senior category for creative design. All this is in a quest to make them mentally and analytically strong. They made a water purifier. Riddhima, Soham and Bharat won the fifth place in robot dance and Riddhima won the eighth place in the recycled waste category We caught up with the students to understand how their experience was.

I have always been interested in mechanics and engineering. I used to open up appliances to see how they work. Because I have exams, I could take only two classes per week at Leap Robotics and yet, I had a wonderful experience

Bharat Teja Verma Kalidindi, Class IX, Indus International School | (Pic: Bharat)

I felt so proud to be representing India. From my school, a few students had participated in IYRC last year, so that's when I got to know about it. We checked out the ideas of other students and had the time to sightsee as well. We went to KidZania and had a great time

VC Kuladeep Reddy, class VIII, Sanghamitra School | (Pic: Kuladeep)

I trained for three months, for five hours every session to modify my strategy. In the future, I want to be in the field of medicine or space research and use this robotic technology or Artificial Intelligence. I want to win more medals for the country

Riddhima Chukkapalli, Class V, Oakridge International School | (Pic: Riddhima)

This is an experience I will never forget as people from more than 23 countries participated in this event. When I grow up, I want to be a mechanical engineer and make something that matters and which will make a difference

Gautam Veerapaneni, Class X, Homeschooled | (Pic: Gautam)

This is the second time I am participating in the competition and I feel that I got a better exposure this year. I also realised that teamwork, coordination, analysing and planning are very important aspects if you are working in a team

Sai Soham Venkata Mashetty, Class VIII, Silver Oaks International School | (Pic: Sai Soham)