A group of eight UAE students has returned home triumphant, bringing with them a Gold medal after besting 192 other countries at 2025 First Global Challenge held in Panama City recently.
The winning students are Riya Mehra (from Dubai College), Aarya Parekh (Delhi Private School, Sharjah), Aarush Pancholi (GEMS Modern Academy), Aditya Anand (New Millennium School, Al Khail), Krithin Satya (Dubai College), Simran Mehra (Dubai College), Sreya Binoy Nair (GEMS Modern Academy), and Aryan Goyal (DIA Emirates Hill).
Their project, called ‘STASH’, is a bio-preservation system designed to protect endangered species such as the Ghaf tree without relying on freezing or electricity. They won a gold medal in the new technology and innovation category in the competition that is widely regarded as the ‘Olympics of Robotics’, gathering some of the world’s brightest young minds in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
The students described their winning project — which will be patented soon — as a low-cost preservation system. STASH uses sodium alginate hydrogels, which are favourable for water retention and flexibility.
“STASH encapsulates living cells in portable, low-cost beads that maintain viability for three to five days, enabling safe transport even to remote areas. Integrated with AI-based cell viability analysis and supported by a 3D-printed field kit, STASH provides an eco-friendly, globally inclusive method for preserving life, one cell at a time,” they explained, noting STASH can be used when transporting ghaf trees.
Ghaf (scientific name Prosopis cineraria) is a drought-tolerant tree, which can remain green even in harsh desert environments. It was declared the national tree of the UAE in 2008 because of its cultural and traditional significance in the country’s desert environment. Ghaf trees, which have medicinal properties, can live for up to 120 years on average.
The students gave their all for the competition. Together, they spent more than 300 hours in rigorous preparation for the international challenge. Their intensive training was supported by Unique World Robotics, the official training partner for Team UAE, which played a key role in guiding the students through technical, strategic, and design aspects of the competition.
Their winning project was evaluated by a panel of experts, including professors from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and scientists from Lam Research, who recognised the innovation and global applicability of STASH.
“Winning Gold was the result of countless hours of collaboration, experimentation, and teamwork. We are proud not just of the medal, but of creating a solution that can truly make a difference for biodiversity and communities worldwide,” said team captain Aarush Pancholi.
Fifteeen-year old Simran Mehra, a Year 11 student at Dubai College, told Khaleej Times: “We spent four months preparing for the competition. We were all committed to the project and it paid off.”
Coach Muhammed Mukhtar added: “This victory is a testament to the extraordinary dedication and ingenuity of our young innovators. They have made the nation proud and shown that UAE students can compete at the highest level on the global stage.”
Mukhtar said the next step for the team is to have the project patented.
The First Global Challenge was created in 2016 by US entrepreneur and engineer, Dean Kamen, who is widely known as one of the inventors of the Segway Human Transport device. It is an Olympics-style international robotics competition that takes place in a different country each year. The competition is also aimed at fostering understanding and cooperation among the youth of the world as they use their abilities to solve the world’s problems.
© Khaleej Times
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