Team Sri Lanka 2021 is a team of nine high school students. We all have a strong passion for science & robotics, each of us applying our knowledge and skills in our own unique ways. The combination of our diverse skill sets coupled with our sportsmanship makes us a strong team!

Marinos (17) – Marinos’ aspiration is to be an engineer. He has a great passion for maths, physics, and computer science. He hopes to use his skills to develop sustainable alternatives to existing methods and devices in whichever field he excels. He’s an avid automotive enthusiast, with a strong passion for tuner culture, and sees the automotive industry as one of the pinnacles of STEM-based development.

Navendra (15) – A coding enthusiast, an avid reader and a classic car enthusiast. Mystified by science and technology at the age of 6, Navendra is an active member of the school coding club, orchestra and athletics squad and is excited and proud to be a member of Team Sri Lanka this year. Alongside messing around with tech, he also enjoys playing piano and cycling.

Hannah (15) – Hannah has always had an avid fascination for science and technology. Having a father as a science teacher, science runs in her blood. Starting out plonking computer keys at three, she now enjoys helping out with the media at church. She also loves exploring new areas and so is excited to pursue her recent interest in robotics this summer – of course while at the same time feeding her passion for reading, cooking up gooey desserts and playing her guitar & piano!

Rajatha (17) – Although new to programming and robotics, Rajatha joined his school’s coding club with an avid interest in learning what the world of coding had to offer, and he is yet to be disappointed. He’s excited to contribute and gain new skills during the FIRST Global Challenge.

Hamza (17) – This is the fifth time that Hamza has been involved in the national team for the FIRST Global Challenge, making him the veteran of the group. Having joined the school robotics club because he was ‘antisocial’, his interest has grown into ‘a passion for the possibilities’ robotics offers. He also enjoys debating and being part of the school’s MUN team.

Hanzalah (15) – Although he has an interest in robotics and a knack for coding, this was his first time participating in a competition like this. He developed his skills for robotics by fiddling with different codes and things he’d find on the web or in his house. The only thing that would match his passion for coding and robotics is his passion for sports.

Sanithu (16) – Sanithu has had an interest in robotics for a long time. He joined his school’s robotics club when he started secondary school. He has taken part in robotics competitions before, including YCS, and the 2021 SLRC robotics championshipHe thinks that technology, robotics and STEM offers many possibilities to solve many current problems in the world.

Sohum (15) – Sohum is quite new to the area of robotics but is learning more every day. He has always loved taking part in things out of his comfort zone. He enjoys playing basketball, the piano, chess. In his free time, he loves solving math sums and taking on new challenges that excite him.

Tharindu (17) – Tharindu has a knack for thinking out of the box to come up with some wacky yet brilliant ideas. A fervent embedded programmer and inventor, he knows most ARM based Cortex and 8-bit chips like the back of his hand, having bare-metal programmed flight controllers for his experimental UAVs.