At just 18 years old, Sohail Jugbandhan has already built an incredible journey through STEM. He was drawn to coding since he was very young, trying to make an impact in everyday life with his projects. Over the years, that curiosity has steadily grown through his work in the other disciplines of STEM and diverse projects including nanosatellites, carbon capture projects and robotics.

From his earliest years, Sohail was fascinated by how technology could impact everyday life. He spent time experimenting with different programming languages so that he could work on a diverse array of projects, and explored artificial intelligence and robotics extensively. Even as a child, he wasn’t content just to learn—he wanted to innovate. This drive carried him to the field of sustainability, where he currently works with Algae Photobioreactors for carbon absorption and seeks to make a meaningful impact environmentally as well.

Sohail’s Journey at FIRST Global Mauritius

In 2021, Sohail officially joined FIRST Global Team Mauritius, taking on the role of team programmer. He programmed the robot to perform the pre-allocated tasks such that included climbing, and moving along designated complex paths. Alongside coding, he also conducted research on nanorobots that year, and contributed to the team’s technical vision. His work laid down a strong foundation for performance, precision, and innovation.

This early phase also saw Sohail leveraging his prior experience with programming languages such as JavaScript, Python, and web design technologies to help the team form new ideas for their robot. YUVA Mauritius featured him in 2021 saying how much he enjoys learning and working in STEM.

Growing as a Strategist

In 2022, Sohail’s role expanded: he continued programming, adapting to new tasks and challenges, but he also took on strategy. As strategist, his work involved designing the robot with constraints in mind: time, power consumption, weight, control systems—all had to be balanced optimally so performance would be as high as possible under competition rules. This meant making trade-offs and smart design decisions, and collaborating closely with team members on efficiency and reliability.

Leading as Team Captain

By 2024, Sohail had become team captain, taking responsibility for the bigger picture. He led the programming, assembly, strategy, and also administrative duties during all phases of the competition. Under his captaincy, Mauritius won the Judges’ Award at the competition—a recognition not only of technical abilities but also leadership, teamwork, communication, and vision.

Mentorship and Guidance

In 2025, Sohail has now transitioned into the role of student mentor. He now provides guidance across programming, robot design, strategy, and leadership. But he does more than just instruct: he supports the growth of each team member not only as contributors in robotics, but as people. He encourages them to grow skills like communication, problem-solving, confidence, and resilience.

He believes having new people on the team brings fresh energy and new ideas, which strengthen creativity and innovation. He helps everyone feel comfortable, listened to, and respected. He wants them to focus on growing themselves, never being afraid of challenges—because that’s how impact is made.

How He Supports the Team

In meetings, Sohail guides rather than taking over. He helps team members think for themselves, find answers, and suggest improvements. When they meet in person, he supports hands-on technical work; when online, discussions tend to focus on strategy, planning, testing, and refining ideas. He also places strong emphasis on testing the robot thoroughly—seeing what works and what doesn’t, tuning design, mechanics, control, and software to make things better and more reliable.

Because he is not far in age from most team members, Sohail understands what it feels like to be in their shoes. He’s lived through many of what they are going through now. That closeness helps build trust. His style is friendly and approachable—not distant or overly formal. It’s this adaptability, empathy, and recent experience that make his mentoring effective: people feel safe to ask questions, make mistakes, and learn without judgement.

A Global Vision

Sohail holds a global vision: he wants the team to think beyond local achievement, to impact the world. He encourages them to embrace hard challenges, believing these are opportunities to grow. He also stresses the importance of continuous improvement: test, reflect, iterate—be willing to change things that don’t work. By doing so, he expects the team won’t just win awards; they’ll make meaningful contributions in robotics, technology, and beyond.

Conclusion: A Story of Growth and Impact

Sohail Jugbandhan’s journey shows what a combination of early curiosity, determination, technical growth, leadership, and mentorship can achieve. From coding his first projects as a child, to researching nanorobots, practising strategy, leading a team, and now mentoring the next generation, his story is not just about winning robotics competitions—it’s about growing people.

He reminds us that STEM is as much about character, teamwork, and vision as it is about circuits and code. At 18, he is already setting a strong example: be bold, keep learning, share what you know, and help others rise.

Tereza Röslerová, Caritas College Olomouc – Communications Officer