Students from our Pearl project submitted 210 CS projects out of which 16 were selected for the Asha Impressions competition. Competition was held at PUPS Nalatinputhur on 20 June, 2026.
Pearl Asha Impressions – June 2026
Asha’s SPRINT initiative focuses on teaching Computer Science to students from Grades 1 to 8, supporting over 180 primary and middle schools in Tamil Nadu and 15 schools in Uttar Pradesh.
It reaches schools across Thoothukudi, Thirunelveli and Tenkasi districts. It all started with Asha placing regular teachers in under‑resourced schools, and in 2014 we took it a step further by adding computer teachers. These teachers don’t just teach computer science, they also bring in carefully chosen open‑source digital content, along with material developed by Asha, to make learning in other subjects richer and more engaging.
As part of the computer science curriculum, every student gets hands‑on experience by creating and submitting projects. Children in 4th and 5th standards put together presentations using OpenOffice, while those in 7th and 8th standards dive into programming with Scratch. The projects are team‑based, with Asha teachers mentoring and guiding students through the process. Out of the vast volume of projects submitted, selected projects get showcased at Asha Impressions, a platform where students proudly present their work.
You may view the album here.
The Event
Asha holds two Asha Impressions events every year. One at Chennai where students from other geographies like Thiruvallur, Thiruvanamalai and Chennai participate. Since Thoothukudi is the farthest geography, transporting younger children becomes a huge challenge. Over the years, we have conducted a separate event for them. This year, however, projects by 6th to 8th children in Scratch Programming and Physical Computer were featured in the main Asha Impressions held at Amazon.
Asha Impressions at Project Pearl was held on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at PUPS Nalatinputhur in Thoothukudi. Out of the 210 projects submitted, 16 projects from 15 schools were finalized by Asha Lead teachers and volunteers. Since the older students had showcased their projects at Chennai, only projects by class 4/5 students in Digital Literacy were featured in this competition. Mr. Rajaraman, Mr. Bhaskar, Ms. Joystna and Mr. Shiva were invited as judges for this competition.
The students arrived at PUPS Nalatinputhur in 3 vans and 2 autos organized by Asha. The students were provided breakfast, and the coordinators and teachers set up the place for the competition. The competition began by 10 pm once the judges arrived and settled in.
To keep the order of competition random, the names of the projects were written in paper and dropped into bowl. The judges picked the teams in order of the draw.
The students presented on interesting topics like Moolligai sedi, Uruppu Mandalam, Animals and their young ones, Kottaikalum Aranmanaikalum etc. making the event interesting and fun. They confidently answered the judges during the Q&A round. At Asha Impressions, the Q&A is given more weightage since it allows the judges to evaluate the depth of knowledge and technical understanding of the projects presented.
Prize Distribution
By 1.15 pm, nearly 11 teams had completed presentations, after which everyone was invited to have lunch. The competition ended by 3.45 pm and the judges took time to discuss upon the winning teams. The prize distribution was held by 4.15 pm. Asha volunteers, Mr. Rajaraman and Mr. Bhaskar reiterated the importance to project work for learning and the significance of Asha Impressions. The judges then announced the winners and handed medals and certificates.
The winners of Asha Impressions, Project Pearl, Thoothukudi are:
1st place – PUMS Kayathar south for One minute story
2nd place – PUPS Karadikulam colony for Avoid Plastic
3rd place – PUPS Koovachipatti for Parts of speech and PUPS Vadakku ilanthaikulam for Healthy and Unhealthy food