Year 13 student Arnav Khanna represents Zambia in FGC

I recently participated in the FIRST Global Challenge (FGC) in Geneva, Switzerland, representing Team Zambia as the Deputy Captain. This is my third year of participation since I was 12, but every year, I come back overwhelmed with experiences and interactions while leaving a mark on the global map.

FGC is an Olympics-style robotics competition that brings youth from over 180 countries to solve global challenges using their skills, abilities, and talents with grand engineering challenges using STEM and robotics. This year's theme was “Carbon Capture”, i.e., cooperating internationally to develop technologies to store CO2 and reduce carbon footprints. While the event was a competition, its emphasis on international cooperation makes it unique. Again, we are reminded that most robots lose, but we must ensure that all humans win. 

My experiences in Geneva were a celebration of cultural, linguistic, and racial diversity. Experiences of resilience, teamwork, and knowledge sharing are the ones I will cherish, a place where we were all bound by a common purpose and brilliant mindsets. We were touched by the Zambian ambassador’s pleasure with our representation at the event that she even invited us to her residence. We determinedly overcame all odds to build a robot as per the challenge in a record five days (due to various constraints), which most teams take months to prepare. This also allowed us to be awarded the Technical Judges Award for outstanding effort and performance, for we “Dared to Dream”.

I am grateful to my team, teachers, and family for supporting me in my endeavours.

- Arnav Khanna