Odisha Innovator Wins Big Prize for Mobile Science Lab
Anil Pradhan won the prestigious Rohini Nayyar Prize for taking mobile science labs with robotics and 3D printers to rural school students.
Imagine a colourful van driving straight onto your school playground, opening its doors, and transforming into a high-tech science workshop! On 6 November 2024 in New Delhi, twenty-eight-year-old engineer Anil Pradhan won the prestigious Rohini Nayyar Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Rural Development for making this dream come true. His fantastic mobile science lab brings fun tools like robotics kits and 3D printers directly to village children across India.
The special award was presented to him at an official ceremony by Dr. Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, an eminent scientist and the former Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Anil Pradhan, who comes from Baral village in Odisha, received a glittering trophy, a citation, and a cash prize of ₹10 lakh to support his wonderful educational mission.
What happened?
Many village schools do not have big science laboratories or modern equipment for experiments. To solve this problem, Anil Pradhan co-founded an organisation called the Young Tinker Foundation. He wanted every student to experience hands-on STEM learning, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Instead of waiting for buildings to be constructed, he decided to put the entire laboratory on wheels!
He launched a custom-built mobile vehicle known as Tinker-on-Wheels. This moving laboratory travels directly to school campuses and playgrounds. When the vehicle arrives, eager pupils gather around to touch, build, and test modern machines. Inside, students find real 3D printers that can make solid objects from digital designs, electronics kits for learning computer coding, and tools to construct robots.
This big educational journey began very simply. At first, Anil worked with just 200 school students in his native village in Odisha. Because he loved teaching and solving practical problems, his classes quickly grew. Today, his hands-on science programmes have reached more than 2.5 lakh (250,000) schoolchildren across three Indian states: Odisha, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.
Anil was not always running mobile workshops. During his college years, he served as the chief designer of VSLV, which was Asia’s first university rocket team! Even though he was trained to build rockets, he chose to dedicate his career to rural education. During his acceptance address in New Delhi, Anil explained that people must break stereotypes about rural youth and make sure village children have equal opportunities to innovate and create.
The annual prize was instituted by the Nayyar Foundation for Social and Economic Purpose to honour changemakers under 40 years of age. It was established in memory of the late economist and former IAS officer Dr. Rohini Nayyar, who worked extensively on rural poverty alleviation with the Planning Commission of India.
Why does it matter to you?
Have you ever read about a science experiment in a textbook and wished you could build it yourself? Reading from a book is a good start, but touching wires, writing code, and testing machines helps you understand how things really work. Anil Pradhan’s work proves that you do not need an expensive classroom to explore cutting-edge technology like robotics and 3D printing.
This inspiring story also shows how young innovators can use scientific knowledge to solve real-world problems. When talented engineers share their skills with schools, thousands of students learn by building things with their own hands. It reminds us that every single child in India has the creative power to design solutions for the future.
Words to know
- STEM: an educational approach that combines science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
- 3D printer: a machine that creates solid, three-dimensional objects from computer designs.
- Robotics: the branch of engineering that designs, builds, and programmes working robots.
- Stereotype: a fixed, oversimplified idea about what a group of people can do.
Did you know?
Before dedicating his life to village classrooms, Anil Pradhan was the chief designer of VSLV, making him one of the leaders behind Asia’s first university rocket team!
Think about it
If a mobile science lab visited your school playground, what machine or robot would you want to build first? How can making things with your hands change the way you understand science lessons?
Quick quiz
What is the name of the custom-built mobile laboratory vehicle created by Anil Pradhan?
- Tinker-on-Wheels
- Science Express
- Rocket Lab
See the answer
Tinker-on-Wheels
Sources
This story was prepared by the Kids Gazette news desk with the help of AI research and writing tools, using the sources listed above.
