Three of our students were invited to Delhi for Amazon’s Career of the Future Summit. They showcased the electric wheelchair created using the Avishkar kit. Here is a report by our teacher Ms. Nathiya.
THE AMAZON CAREERS OF THE FUTURE SUMMIT – 2025
The Amazon Careers of the Future Summit, held in Delhi in January 2025, was a fantastic event hosted by Amazon, and Asha Chennai was thrilled to participate as a Project Partner. This summit brought together leaders from industry and public policy to discuss the critical role of computer science education in preparing students for future careers.
The panel discussions were going on in the main hall and our volunteers and staff attended the same. In another hall Amazon had organized booths to showcase the work done by partner organisations of Amazon Future Engineer. For Asha, this was a wonderful opportunity to showcase our Robotic Wheelchair project, created by our students from Public Union Middle School, Anantheri (Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu). The project sparked a lot of curiosity and excitement among the attendees. Our students had the privilege of interacting with distinguished guests, including Dr. Kamakoti Veezhinathan, Director of IIT Madras, Mr. Palanidaran Chidambaram, Director of Appstore and XScreen Tech at Amazon, and Mr. Akshay Kashyap, India Lead for Amazon Future Engineer. Their encouragement and feedback were invaluable.
This experience was truly an honor and a testament to the impact of our initiatives, leaving us inspired and motivated to continue our journey in transforming education.
Here is a report written by our Lead Teacher, Mrs. Nathiya-
I am a lead teacher and also teach classes 6 to 8 at PUMS Anantheri School. Amazon selected our Robotic Wheelchair project, which was created by three 8th standard students from PUMS Anantheri.
So, along with the three children, I, Rohit (Developer), Mr. Manoharan (Asha Coordinator) and three volunteers—Mr. Rajaraman, Mr. Venkat, Mrs. Komalavalli, and an Asha teacher Mrs. Seetha—traveled to Delhi on 20.01.2025 to showcase the project at the Amazon Carnival.
On the morning of the 20th, we traveled from Anantheri to the airport by car. One of the parents also accompanied us. This was my second time traveling by flight. For our students, it was their first time going to Delhi and their first flight experience. They were very excited about the journey.
One of the parents mentioned that his child was the first in their village to travel by flight. The parents were overjoyed, and words could not express their emotions as their children were flying and staying in a 5-star hotel.
During the flight, we took some photos, and the children enjoyed the experience. They also tried some snacks on the flight. After landing at Delhi Airport, we all went to Samrat Hotel. That evening, we visited Taj Palace to see the showcase venue. After that, we returned to Samrat Hotel and had dinner. The dinner had many varieties of dishes, and the children and I enjoyed the food.
Amazon gave gifts to the children, including a sweatshirt, water bottle, bag, and Robo kit. They were very happy.
That night, the children tried to make tea using the kettle for the first time. They didn’t know how to use it, so I gave them instructions. Later that night, we assembled the wheelchair for our project.
On 21.01.2025, at 7 AM, we traveled by bus to Taj Palace. It was a short journey. At the showcase venue, we began assembling our project. We faced some issues but eventually resolved them and set up our booth.
Many visitors came to our booth. The children explained the project in Tamil, and I translated into English since most visitors spoke either English or Hindi. Rohit explained in Hindi. Some Tamil-speaking visitors also came, and the children happily explained everything in Tamil.
Mr. Kamakoti Sir, Director of IIT Madras, also interacted with the children. Other esteemed visitors like Mr. Palani, a senior leader at Amazon also came to our booth.
The whole day went very well. We also got some time to explore other projects, and both the children and I learned a lot.
Amazon arranged some games, such as a robot drawing our faces and an acceleration-based catching game. The children enjoyed these activities.
For lunch, there were many varieties of dishes, and we tried some for the first time.
At the end of the showcase, Amazon gave a certificate to the children and a trophy for me.
After the showcase, our Asha team went shopping. The children liked Naruto T-shirts, so Rajaraman Sir and Venkat Sir bought them in suitable sizes and gifted them to the children.
Later, we returned to the hotel and had dinner.
On 22.01.2025, in the morning, we visited Humayun’s Tomb and Jantar Mantar.
Finally, we reached the airport and returned home.
Overall, we had a wonderful experience. We would like to thank Amazon and Asha for organizing this amazing event for the children and me.