Brainybotz and AROHA 2025: Where Curiosity Meets Creativity!

In the past ten years, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) has become an integral part of India’s education system. Some of the key characteristics of STEM education include integrated learning, hands-on learning experience, problem-based learning, and skill development. More classrooms around the nation are adopting these characteristics and include robotics and coding. This method of engaging the children towards curiosity and exploration, rather than mindless memorisation, is one of the benefits of STEM education.

BrainyBotz Edtech Private Limited is part of this change, focusing on making STEM learning practical and meaningful. With robotics sessions, real-world AI experiments, and creative STEM challenges, Brainybotz helps young learners experience active learning.

With workshops, school-integrated STEM curriculum, and vibrant STEM & Robotics Centres, the organisation challenges innovation, fosters creativity, and builds confidence in every child. Over the years, Brainybotz has trained thousands of students and earned numerous international STEM awards, showcasing the global potential of Indian learners.

Founded by visionary educators and mothers, Naga Shilpa Seethamraju and Gayathri Vadavalli, Brainybotz is built on the belief that every child deserves the opportunity to explore, question, and create.

Yo! Vizag had the wonderful opportunity of interacting with the team of Brainybotz as they described their passion for creating opportunities for children to question the norm and build solutions through their unique lens.

What follows is an exclusive interview as the Brainybotz team breaks down the complexity behind STEM, the opportunities in it, and describes AROHA 2025, an exciting STEM expo cum competition for children and parents.

What sparked the idea of Brainybotz?

Gayatri: Brainybotz began with a simple thought of creating meaningful learning opportunities for children in India.

Shipla lived in the US for nearly 20 years, where kids regularly participated in hands-on activities and competitions. After returning to India, we realised that such opportunities were limited.

As mothers, we wanted the same exposure for our children. We met through our kids, who participated in robotics competitions together. Informally, we supported each other, starting from registrations to taking children to events and even meeting scientists and subject experts.

Later, when I took a career break from GITAM, we decided to build something together. That’s how Brainybotz was born, out of a shared vision to create opportunities for children to learn, explore, and compete.

Naga Shilpa Seethamraju (to the left) and Gayathri Vadavalli (to the right)

Brainybotz strongly focuses on experiential learning. How does this differentiate you from traditional education systems?

Shilpa: Our approach is hands-on, problem-solving oriented, and very different from traditional rote learning.

Instead of giving students instructions and answers, we provide them with a goal and the tools to explore. They brainstorm, experiment, and build solutions independently.

A key differentiator is the international exposure we provide. Every year, we take at least one or two teams abroad for global STEM competitions. Students represent India on an international platform, interact with peers from other countries, and bring back ideas that shape their perspectives and interests.

Your mission talks about stimulating curiosity and fostering creativity. How do you measure success in achieving that?

Gayatri: For us, success lies in creating curiosity in the child, not just the result. We want children to develop a mindset where, when they see a problem, they instinctively think about how to solve it.

If a child becomes more curious, observant, and confident in finding solutions, that’s a clear indicator of success for us.

Can you give us an inside view of the learning experience at your STEM and robotics centres?

Tanay: We follow a unique learning path where students are first exposed to technology and then connect it to theory to create something new.

For example, if they learn about motors in textbooks, we let them handle the motor, observe its operation, disassemble it, and understand how it works. After that exploration, we teach them the theory of how the motor works in real life, so theory and their hands-on experience go together.

Every activity is built around exploration, opening up devices, experimenting, and finally reinventing what they have learned.

What makes Brainybotz’s integrated STEM curriculum unique for schools?

Tanay: We customise our curriculum for every school, as each school has different requirements.

Before we do that, we sit with the administrative body and teachers to understand students’ needs, parents’ expectations, and learning styles. It is a lengthy process, but it is essential.

Each school has varying interests, so we tailor the curriculum, workbooks, and activities accordingly. We ensure learning remains interesting, practical, and aligned with classroom concepts without forcing kids into areas they aren’t interested in.

Brainybotz has participated in major international STEM competitions like VEX Robotics, CPC, and BIEAI. What support do students receive before attending these global competitions?

Gayatri: Every year, once global competitions announce their themes, we select interested students, not just academically strong ones, but anyone passionate about robotics and hands-on work.

The training runs for several months. During the training, students go through project submissions, online judging rounds, and travel to countries such as the US, UK, Japan, and Dubai.

Shilpa: We also involve industry experts to help students understand real-world applications, where it is not just building a robot, but knowing where it’s used and why.

You use the ShuHaRi methodology in your learning spaces. How does this methodology build mastery in students?

Tanay: We adopt the Japanese ShuHaRi method, which consists of three stages:

1. Shu (Learn the basics) – Students first learn the rules and fundamentals of a concept.

2. Ha (Break the rules) – They experiment, try new ideas, and explore beyond the standard approach.

3. Ri (Create your own path) – Students design completely independent projects, from ideation to prototyping to execution.

This system encourages deep understanding, creativity, and independence. So after learning the basic rules of a particular concept, we give the children a hands-on project. At Brainybotz, the children begin the project themselves, get the idea, procure, design and manufacture the project on their own.

What is the long-term vision of Brainybotz in transforming STEM education in India?

Shilpa: Our primary goal is to strengthen STEM learning in Visakhapatnam and surrounding cities, where exposure is still limited. We have already collaborated with schools in Hyderabad and Bengaluru and plan to expand, but we plan on taking it step by step.

Our primary goal is to create an impact on the local and surrounding cities’ students, so that they can represent Visakhapatnam at the national and international levels.

Gayatri: We are also in the process of building a STEM Experience Centre opposite the Radisson Hotel. It is expected to open by April or May next year. Schools and students can visit to explore STEM opportunities under one roof. Long-term, we aim to replicate this model across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

We also plan to make AROHA, our annual STEM expo and competition, a large national and eventually an international event. The idea is to build awareness about STEM so that more children can participate, even if they can’t travel abroad.

If you could describe AROHA 2025 in three words, what would they be?

Gayatri: Learn. Build. Compete. Students will learn new concepts, build projects based on their interests, and compete to understand where they stand while learning from their peers. Our tagline captures the spirit perfectly:  “Where curiosity meets creativity.”

What can parents expect from AROHA 2025?

Shilpa: AROHA will showcase a wide range of student projects, demonstrating what children of different ages can achieve in robotics and STEM. Parents can explore multiple hands-on activities and interact with industry experts to understand the future opportunities for their children.

The competition segment is intentionally unrevealed beforehand, so visitors can watch the students innovate under time pressure and witness their creativity live.

Gayatri: We are also collaborating with GITAM, which will showcase their advanced technologies, such as drones and automotive innovations.

Tanay: Parents generally lack a general idea of what STEM is and the number of opportunities that can be derived from it. AROHA will serve as the bridge for parents to know about STEM, and they can witness the amount of knowledge that goes into building solutions to real-life problems.

For those STEM enthusiasts who love watching the process of building solutions for real-life problems, AROHA 2025 by Brainybotz is the event you must attend. The event will be held at KRC Auditorium, GITAM, on December 6th, 2025. For more details, please use the following channels and social media to connect with them!

Instagram: @brainybotz 

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 9391442996

Website: www.brainybotz.ai

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