WITH the hope of replicating his robotic creations on a larger scale, 13-year-old Tushaant Sanichara, a Grade Eight student at The Bishops’ High School, has been headlining several expos as one of the many brilliant minds birthed from STEM-Guyana.

In a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle, the young lad said he enrolled at STEM-Guyana four years ago at the age of nine.

“When I joined Stem-Guyana I had no experience in robotics, but I was taught how to build robots, how to connect wires into the mother board of the robot and how to programme,” he said.

The Roomba, a robot vacuum cleaner, was his first project. It was built for an exhibition at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre which was a success.

Sanichara, like many children across the world, had to quickly adjust to the online world of learning with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though his preferred method of learning is the face-to-face interaction, Sanichara was able to quickly adapt.

“STEM introduced online classes which was the introduction to Scratch and Advance Scratch. I participated and learned how to create games and to animate,” he recalled.

Soon after, Sanichara entered a local competition and showed off his new-found skills in video games and animation.

“After learning Scratch, I entered a competition — the COVID-19 warz virtual challenge competition — and came in fourth place,” he said.

Following his success in that competition, Sanichara was given a chance to compete on the international stage.

“I was given my first opportunity to enter international competition in 2020, which was IYRC [International Youth Robot Competition]. This was done virtually. I was working with a team, and we decided to build a sanitation bot and we won a silver medal.”

He added: “I was happy about this and was even more motivated to continue with STEM.”

Continuing with online classes, Sanichara, along with his team members, entered the competition once again in 2021; this time they brought home the gold prize.

“Due to COVID, we were hardly meeting for any training; however, myself and team members entered IYRC for the second year, this time around we built a helper bot and won a gold medal. I also assisted in a TV-show named ‘Robin the Robot’ by building a robot and doing math problems. This robot that I built was about never giving up,” he said.

Sanichara, along with his teammates, entered the IYRC for the third year. As a senior team this time around, he and his teammates designed a COVID-19 bot and won a bronze medal.

“After the IYRC, I represented STEM Guyana at the Arthur Chung Centre for Youth week with a bulldozer bot.”

Most recently, at an Agriculture Expo held at his school, Sanichara built and showcased a multi-tool farm bot that can cut weeds, plant seeds and plough, one of his many creations which he hopes can one day be replicated and used in everyday life.

The young lad explained to this publication that he wanted to create an innovative solution for farmers.

“My experience with STEM-Guyana so far is educational, exciting and fun. I would encourage parents to let their children join as it makes learning fun,” the lad said.