Page 30 - EW May 2025

Young Achievers

rigorous hours every day” novation Story in association with
including a daily two-hour Harvard University, IIT-Bombay,
gym session to develop Amazon Future Engineers, Cap-
appropriate strength and gemini, and Tata Capital. It attracted
muscle conditioning. “My participation of 80 teams from 35
success is due to all my municipal schools in Mumbai. It re-
coaches in Florida, and the quired participants to design a cost-
Inspire Institute of Sport in effective device to improve hygiene
Bellary (Karnataka). Also and accessibility.
to my family members who The top-prize winner Smart
encourage and cheer me. I Hygienic Toilet is an efficient solu-
am also grateful to Florida tion for public restrooms designed
University for giving me to improve hygiene and encourage
academic flexibility to train responsible usage. It features an
for championships,” ac- automatic door that opens when a
knowledges Aryan, who was user presses a button and closes after
ARYAN NEHRA awarded a cash prize of Rs.1 crore entry. If the user forgets to flush af-
by the Gujarat state government last
ter use, the door remains locked. For
year. comfort, the toilet includes a heated
urrently a final year under- Though pleased with his progress, seat that adjusts to room tempera-
grad student at the Florida Aryan is far from satisfied. “I have ture. The model also incorporates an
CUniversity (USA), Ahmed- a long way to go. I am aware that I efficient flushing system to optimise
abad-born Aryan Nehra (21) is a must continuously improve my train- water usage. Using sensor technol-
promising swimming champion ing and timings. I have set myself ogy, the system detects user presence
with over 100 state, national and the goal to work towards an A cut for and automates various functions.
international aquatic championship the LA Olympics 2028, and at least “We are extremely grateful to
medals and trophies displayed on a podium finish at the Asian Games our school teachers Ramesh Kurude
his mantelpiece at home. In Febru- in Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) next year,” Sir and Swati Shinde Ma’am, and
ary at the 38th National Games of says this modest champion, who has our mentor Vishnupriya Ma’am for
India staged in Uttarakhand, this stiff upstream swimming ahead. their ideas and considerable time.
Gujarat merman who specialises Runa Mukherjee Parikh (Ahmedabad) Without school support, we would
in the 800m, 1500m freestyle and never have been able to complete
400m individual medley events this project,” says G2 spokesperson
returned home with three silver and Shreyansh.
four bronze medals. YOUNG INVENTORS “Sanitation management is a
At the 11th Asian Age Group major problem in India. Clean and
Aquatic Championships 2024 held eam G2 — a quintet comprising cost-effective public toilets are very
in New Clark City (Philippines) a Aryan Rahul Yadav, Mush- necessary, especially for women
year earlier, Aryan was a member Tfiq Mohd Ghous Farooqui, citizens. Our Smart Hygiene Toilet
of the 4x200m freestyle relay team Shreyansh Shridhar Kasturi, Falak requires very little water, guarantees
that set a new national record clock- Mallebari and Krishika Amit Kambli, cleanliness and is cost-effective to
ing 7:26:64 seconds, and won one all class VI-VIII students of Mumbai install on mass scale. We are hopeful
gold and three silver medals. Public School Hariyali Village CBSE our innovation will be commer-
The elder child of civil servant School, Vikhroli, Mumbai — has cialised soon,” he adds.
Vijay Nehra, and educator Suman, designed the prototype of a Smart Paromita Sengupta (Bengaluru)
Aryan first took to water in a hotel Hygienic Toilet
pool. Exulted by the experience, he which bagged first
started competitive swimming at prize at the RoboRise
age nine and signed up for training Innovation Challenge
at the Gujarat Vidyapith Academy, 2025 finale staged
Ahmedabad under the tutelage of on February 15 at the
coach Kamlesh Nanavati. Aryan’s Nita Mukesh Ambani
younger sister Anaya is also a com- Junior School, Mum-
petitive swimmer. bai.
In 2021, when he was admitted The RoboRise
to University of Florida as a student Challenge was
athlete to study economics, he was organised by team
promptly inducted into the univer- members of Project
sity’s swimming squad, and trained Udaan, an initiative
under legendary coach Anthony of Mumbai-based
Nesty, a 1988 Olympic gold medal- STEM education
ist. Under Nesty’s tutelage, Aryan’s evangelists, The In-
training has intensified to “six

30 EDUCATIONWORLD MAY 2025