KATHMANDU - Three Nepali school students are set to take Nepal to the global stage at the First Global Challenge (FGC) 2026, an Olympic-style international robotics competition, in Incheon, South Korea, next month.
The five-member Team Nepal, formed and managed by the Robotics Association of Nepal (RAN), includes Grade 9 student Riddhi Manandhar of Samriddhi School, Grade 7 student Anupam Bhujel of KMC School, and Grade 8 student Sparsha Kayastha of Livingstone School. RAN President Bikash Gurung and drone and humanoid lead Anuj Chaudhary will serve as mentors.
The competition will be held from October 7 to 10 at Songdo Convensia in Incheon, bringing together youth teams from more than 190 countries.
This year’s challenge, themed “Igniting Innovation,” will focus on developing robotic solutions for wildfire prevention, mitigation and environmental resilience.
The three students were selected following their performances at the AI for Good – National Robotics Competition, a national platform for identifying emerging robotics talent in Nepal. Since their selection, they have spent the past two to three months undergoing intensive training and building their competition robot at RAN’s Kathmandu office.
“This is both an honour and a responsibility to represent Nepal on an international platform,” RAN President Gurung said, highlighting the students’ discipline and hard work during their preparation.
Team Nepal will travel to Incheon under the motto “Team Nepal. One Vision. Igniting Nepali Innovation to the Globe.”
Alongside the main robotics competition, the event will feature robot inspections, practice rounds, an opening ceremony, cultural exchange programmes, ranking matches and a closing ceremony, bringing together thousands of young innovators from around the world.
Nepal has been participating in the First Global Challenge through RAN since 2023. RAN also organises national STEM and robotics initiatives, including the AI for Good competition and the annual Yantra Science, Technology and Entrepreneurship Festival.