Bihar student finds a place on Harvard project

Harvard University has selected Bihar student Prateeksha Singh and six others for its Soft Robotics Toolkit. The Class 9 student spoke to ETV Bharat about her love for robotics and her future plans.

Gaya (Bihar): Harvard University has selected seven Indian students to develop designs for the Soft Robotics Toolkit after a training programme organised by the university in India's Bihar state.

Prateeksha Singh, a Class 9 student, was one of them who took part in the programme at the Gaya district school and the design presented by her was considered the best.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Prateeksha said that she had a liking for robotics since her childhood. She said that she was given three months of online training by Harvard for the project.

"After the training, we had to make a presentation on the Soft Robotics Toolkit. The model prepared by me was considered creative by analysts. Under my project, the movement of very small to large items can be possible with less energy. I have a desire to study at Harvard, so I am working hard day and night. I also have a desire to work for the ISRO [the Indian space agency] and go to space," she said. Notably, Harvard will organise a competition among all the selected seven students and the one who presents the most creative design will get to study at the University.

Devendra Singh, a science teacher at the Gaya District School, said "before training students, two teachers of this school were trained by Harvard University for two months. As many as 12 students of this school were given the training, among them, Prateeksha has been selected for the next stage."

The selected students across the country will also be honoured under the 'Atal Innovation Mission' initiative in Delhi once the pandemic situation ends. Robotics is an interdisciplinary field that integrates computer science and engineering. It involves the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. The ultimate aim of the Soft Robotics Toolkit is to advance the field of soft robotics by allowing designers and researchers to build upon each other’s work.