From Panama to Policy: How Team India’s FIRST Global Journey Transformed National STEM Strategy

By STEM Education Trust — India’s Official Partner for FIRST Global

When Team India departed the FIRST Global Challenge (FGC) 2025 in Panama, they carried more than just memories of “Coopertition” and technical growth. They carried a mission — one that STEM Education Trust (SET) had helped shape from the very beginning: to ensure that the transformative power of the FIRST Global stage reaches every corner of India.

What followed was a masterclass in how student ambassadors, backed by a committed national partner, can bridge the gap between international inspiration and national policy. By strategically leveraging Team India’s success in Panama, SET worked alongside the team to advocate at the highest levels of the Indian government — leading to a historic outcome: The FGC 2026 selection process is now being promoted across the entire network of 10,000+ Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) in India.

This is the story of how one team’s journey became a national movement — and how SET helped make that pivot possible.

Building the Foundation: SET’s Role in Getting Team India to Panama

For SET, the journey to Panama began long before the opening ceremony. As India’s official Programme Delivery Partner (PDP) for FIRST Global since 2017, SET manages every dimension of India’s participation — from the national selection process and mentoring ecosystem to fundraising coordination and government liaison.

For FGC 2025, SET identified five exceptional students from Government High School, Malleswaram — a government school powered by an Atal Tinkering Lab — and paired them with mentors Akhil Menon and Saieesh Gandhi. The team was not selected for pedigree or privilege. They were selected for potential, curiosity, and the willingness to grow.

Team India L to R Akhil Menon,

SET’s deliberate focus on inclusion — prioritising government schools and underserved communities — is what made this story possible. And in Panama, that story came alive.

Earning Credibility on the Global Stage

Team India arrived in Panama with a “CAN-DO” spirit. Competing against nearly 190 nations, the team focused on reliable engineering and strategic collaboration — embodying the very values that FIRST Global and SET champion: Gracious Professionalism, Coopertition, and continuous learning.

Team India 2025 with Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST

Their performance was a testament to the effectiveness of the ATL ecosystem. Beyond the scoreboard, the team’s ability to lead alliance strategies and support peers in the pits caught the attention of FIRST founder Dean Kamen and global leaders. They didn’t just play the game — they represented India with the kind of humility, competence, and collaborative spirit that makes the FIRST Global community proud.

For SET, this was validation of a decade-long belief: that the right support system can take students from any background to the world’s most prestigious STEM stage.

The National Stage: From Panama to the Chief Secretaries’ Conference

The first major milestone in this advocacy journey was an invitation that few student teams ever receive: a platform at the Chief Secretaries’ Conference — the topmost administrative forum in India, where the senior-most bureaucrats from every state gather to shape the nation’s development agenda. It led to the Team presenting to the Secretary of Education, the nation’s top bureaucrat in the sector. They demonstrated how FGC’s theme-based challenges (like 2025’s focus on Biodiversity) align directly with India’s National Education Policy (NEP 2020) goals for experiential, sustainable, and hands-on learning.

SET worked to ensure Team India’s story was presented not merely as an achievement, but as a replicable model. Presenting to this elite leadership, the team demonstrated that robotics is not just a competition — it is a vehicle for developing the skills of the future: communication, cross-border collaboration, and complex problem-solving.

Their presentation served as a powerful proof-of-concept for the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM): that the ATL model, when connected to global platforms like FIRST Global, can produce world-class innovators from the most ordinary of classrooms.

The Power of 10,000 Tinkering Labs

At the heart of this transformation is the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), a flagship initiative of the Government of India’s NITI Aayog. Through its network of over 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs, AIM has created a grassroots revolution in STEM education — providing millions of students with access to 3D printing, robotics, IoT, and hands-on problem-solving tools.

SET recognised early that ATL is not just an infrastructure — it is the most powerful distribution network for democratising access to FIRST Global. By integrating FGC into the ATL ecosystem, India could move from sending one team to building a national pipeline. That was the vision SET brought to every conversation with the government.

L to R: Saieesh Gandhi, (Mentor), Chandan, Sai Pranav Gandhi, Sanjay Kumar, IAS, (Secretary Education, GOI), Smt Mythra, (Incharge ATL, Malleshwaram), Dr Deepak Bagla, (Mission Director AIM)

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Honored Guests at India’s Topmost National Event

The ultimate recognition of the team’s impact came when they were selected as part of an elite group of 100 ATL Innovation Champions invited as Special Guests to witness the Republic Day Parade 2026 in New Delhi — India’s most prestigious national celebration, held annually on January 26th.

As guests at this iconic event, the team participated in a high-profile three-day journey that placed young innovators at the very heart of the nation’s celebrations. The experience was as inspiring as it was symbolic:

• The team visited the National Science Centre, where interactive exhibits reinforced the culture of inquiry and innovation that both ATL and FIRST Global champion.

Visit to Science Cetre

• The journey culminated in a memorable High Tea interaction with Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (I/C) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences — where the students shared their FGC experiences and discussed how international platforms like FIRST Global accelerate nation-building through technology and scientific inquiry.

High Tea interaction with Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State

Being among the 100 Innovation Champions at Republic Day was not just an honour — it was a signal from the Government of India that grassroots innovation belongs at the national table.

Attending the Republic day parade

The Result: Scaling Opportunity to 10,000+ Labs

The most significant outcome of this sustained advocacy was a systemic shift. Inspired by Team India’s journey and the compelling case made by SET, the Atal Innovation Mission has committed to promoting the FGC 2026 selection process across all 10,000+ Atal Tinkering Labs in India.

This is the pivot that SET had been working toward — and it changes everything:

• 🌏 Massive Outreach: Millions of students across all 28 states and 8 Union Territories now have a clear, visible pathway to represent India on the global stage.
• 🏫 Inclusive Innovation: Students in rural and underserved areas will receive the same information and opportunity as those in major metros — for the first time.
• 🔁 A Sustainable Pipeline: By embedding FGC into the ATL calendar, India is building a long-term culture of global collaboration, Gracious Professionalism, and cooperative problem-solving within its school system.

A Global Vision, A National Reality

As Team India stood among the Special Guests at the Republic Day Parade 2026, the symbolism was unmistakable. They were no longer just a robotics team — they were the spark for a national movement.

For **STEM Education Trust, this outcome represents the fulfilment of a long-held vision: that India’s participation in FIRST Global should not be limited to a single team, but should be a national opportunity** — accessible, inclusive, and built to last.

For **FIRST Global**, this represents a massive leap in the mission to inspire the world’s youth — proving that when one team shines, and when the right partner works strategically behind the scenes, they can light the way for an entire nation.

“We went to Panama to build a robot, but we came back to help build a system,” said Team Captain Ningaraj. “Now, every student in an ATL lab knows that the global stage is within their reach.”

“Team India’s journey is exactly what FIRST Global is designed to create — not just great engineers, but young leaders who can inspire systemic change,” added SET founder Gagan Goyal. “SET’s role was to ensure that inspiration didn’t stop at the airport — it had to reach every lab, every school, every student who deserves this chance.”

STEM Education Trust (SET) has been India’s official partner for FIRST Global since 2017, managing selection, mentorship, fundraising and government liaison to ensure India’s participation is inclusive, impactful and sustainable.

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