MUSCAT: Two students from Oman have secured third place at the 2026 World Championship, an international robotics competition held in the United States, becoming the first team from the Sultanate to reach the global podium and earning a combined $112,000 in university scholarships.

Ira Yadav and Adisesh Kunnath Dinesh, both IGCSE Year 2 students at Indian School Wadi Kabir (ISWK) Cambridge, represented Oman at the championship hosted by Lawrence Technological University in Michigan. The competition challenges students from around the world to apply science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) principles and computer science skills through the design and programming of autonomous robots.

Competing against hundreds of teams, the Omani students impressed judges with their technical expertise and innovative approach through their project, “Bio React,” developed for the Senior RoboMed category, which focuses on autonomous healthcare solutions.

The project is an intelligent medical support system designed to assist patients in hospitals and home-care settings, particularly when immediate medical assistance is unavailable. The system is capable of responding to emergencies and providing critical support until caregivers or healthcare professionals can intervene.

Their achievement earned each student a university scholarship worth US$56,000, taking the combined scholarship value to US$112,000. The organisers said the 2025-2026 championship season featured 738 teams competing across 64 international qualifying events.

The achievement marks a milestone for Oman in international robotics competitions and highlights the growing strength of STEM education in the Sultanate, while also underscoring Indian School Wadi Kabir’s continued success in global academic and innovation contests.