Global Indianstory Global Indian ExclusiveKarun Kaushik: Indian-American teen helping fight pneumonia with a cost-effective AI solution

Karun Kaushik: Indian-American teen helping fight pneumonia with a cost-effective AI solution

Compiled by: Team GI Youth

(May 21, 2024) 2020 had just begun and things were getting difficult for California boy Karun Kaushik as a delayed pneumonia treatment due to an inaccurate diagnosis nearly cost him his mother’s life. The harrowing experience put him face-to-face with Covid-19 and the grim reality of pneumonia – a global killer that took the lives of 2.5 million people in the world, out of which 600,000 were children under the age of five. The startling statistics led the Indian American teen to think on his toes as Covid-19 had only exacerbated the situation.

With many relatives in India, he was concerned about the hospitals in India as he knew from visits that they had nowhere near the resources or technology necessary to save lives like his mother’s. As the world went into lockdown and Covid-19 swept across the globe, the 17-year-old spoke with radiologists in India, who confirmed that overwhelming patient volume and impossible working conditions were creating diagnostic bottlenecks, resulting in unnecessary deaths.

That’s when the Indian-American teen decided to focus on developing a solution to remove the ever-building backlogs. He spent months learning Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create X-Check-MD, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) software that can diagnose Covid-19 and pneumonia with 99 percent accuracy in under one minute. It won him the Gloria Barron Prize 2022 for Young Heroes.

We’re wowed by 2022 Barron Prize winner Karun, who created AI software that can diagnose Covid-19 and pneumonia with 99% accuracy in under one minute. His tool is part of Democratize Health, the nonprofit he founded to save lives in impoverished regions. Grateful for you, Karun! pic.twitter.com/VFM9ODc7cu

— Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes (@BarronPrize) December 13, 2022

This innovation led to the birth of Democratize Health in March 2020, a non-profit initiative to empower healthcare workers in underprivileged communities with fast, affordable, accurate, and remotely accessible artificial intelligence-based diagnostics solutions. “It’s easy to feel hopeless at times with the issues the world is facing but, in my opinion, hope is our strongest resource and weapon,” Karun said in an interview.

So how does X-Check-MD work? It allows doctors to take a picture of an X-ray with their mobile phone’s camera, upload it to a globally accessible website, and receive a diagnosis within seconds, thus making the process faster, and cheaper than traditional methods where the typical turn-around time for diagnosis is 4-18 hours by radiologists. The 99 percent accuracy reduces the chances of misdiagnoses due to human errors such as visual and cognitive fatigue under overwhelm. It also eliminates the diagnostic backlog which is common in developing countries while helping reduce delays in treatment.

Karun Kaushik | Global Indian | Indian American

Karun Kaushik is the founder of Democratize Health

Democratize Health also educates impoverished communities about environmental risk factors, preventative measures like vaccines (as 71 million children didn’t get the full pneumococcal vaccine in 2018), and available treatment options. So far, it has impacted more than 3,000 people in India, and the non-profit believes that it has the potential to save the lives of 800,000 children worldwide who die from pneumonia each year.

Since this Global Indian provides the technology to doctors and hospitals for $2.75 per scan in India, he is hopeful it can help prevent deaths from pneumonia, 90 percent of which occur in the world’s poorest regions. Currently, he is working to expand global outreach for Democratize Health and build diagnostic solutions for more diseases. Karun, who was selected as a 2021 Global Teen Leader by the We Are Family Foundation, wants to ensure that no one’s health is left behind, regardless of their geography or socioeconomic status. “I want to drive change to make a better world.”

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Published on 21, May 2024

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Joy Agrawal: Diana awardee making STEM education and entrepreneurship accessible to the underprivileged

(July 14, 2023) "I was over the moon," says Joy Agrawal, the teenager who found himself on the Diana Award 2023 winners list. The 17-year-old from Nagpur is making a difference with Project Gyan, an initiative that was birthed in 2020 to help impart practical STEM education to underprivileged kids. Three years in, the changemaker is keen to revolutionise the world through space technology, global education, and global studies. "More than validation, Diana Award is a motivation for me. What we do is different and amazing, and I strive to find solutions through space technology, engineering, and policy," Joy tells Global Indian. [caption id="attachment_31874" align="aligncenter" width="562"] Joy Agrawal is the founder of Project Gyan[/caption] Project Gyan - that changed it all Project Gyan seeks to mentor students in STEM and help them develop curiosity and long-lasting interest in asking the big questions. Joy was all of 13 when he had an epiphany while sitting for the Homi Bhaba exam in 2019 - the underprivileged students have no access to practical labs. A thought that kept him awake for weeks. He understood his privilege of having access to all the resources, while the disadvantaged had no money to even order science

l of 13 when he had an epiphany while sitting for the Homi Bhaba exam in 2019 - the underprivileged students have no access to practical labs. A thought that kept him awake for weeks. He understood his privilege of having access to all the resources, while the disadvantaged had no money to even order science kits. This problem found a solution in Project Gyan. "It's an effort to help quality STEM education reach the young minds through practical and application-based education, focusing on the underprivileged children," adds the changemaker.

But in the last year, Project Gyan underwent restructuring, making it the world's first decentralised STEM and entrepreneurship exploratory. "It's like a lab where you can go explore anything and everything," reveals Joy, for whom explorative education is the focus. He partnered with Padma Shri Dr Prakash Amte's Lok Biradri Prakalp and Bridge The Gap Foundation to help educate rural and tribal kids through workshops and unconventional experiments. "We have a different perspective on experimentation. We mostly use things that are available in the kitchen, making it easier for kids to understand things. We don't just focus on Chemistry but the Physics behind the experiment."

Along with STEM education, Project Gyan has expanded its mission to entrepreneurship by exposing the elderly in rural and tribal areas of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to practical entrepreneurial education and converting them into nano-entrepreneurs. Project Gyan is currently working with the Bharia tribe from Madhya Pradesh which still uses a barter system to make ends meet. "Since they are poor and don't use any currency, they log wood from the valley of Patalkot, thus negatively impacting the environment. So we intervened and now teach them sellable skills like painting, pottery, clay art, and candle making, thus helping them make products and sell them," adds the changemaker.

In partnership with Patalkot Tribal Community Welfare Organisation and Serendipity Lakes and Resorts in Tamia, Madhya Pradesh, Project Gyan is helping the women of Dhundi Shekhar, a village in Tamia, to make Kulhad Battis (candles in small pots), aiming to equip them with skills necessary to create and sell these candles. "The final products are sent to the Serendipity Lakes and Resorts where they are put on display for the visitors, who eventually end up buying the products, thus helping these women earn a livelihood," reveals Joy, adding that according to the 2011 National Innovation Report over one lakh, unique inventions were made by tribals across India, something that's still not known to the public. "I understood that rural and tribal people are jugaadu (make shifter) in India, and I wanted to empower such people through Project Gyan so that they learn to market and sell their innovations." He credits his core team - Gurleen Batra, Mehak Chokhani, Tanmay Agrawal, Prisha Prasad, Pranjal Prasad and Sonit Sisolekar - for their hardwork and determination in making Project Gyan a success.

Love for space tech

The Bareilly-born is a space tech enthusiast who has always been fascinated by the outer world. However, it was a telescope gifted by his parents that piques his interest. "For a year, I'd sit every day gazing at the stars or looking at the asteroids. But with time, it became less frequent. However, lockdown changed it as the sky was clear again," says the Centre Point School student who discovered two asteroids in 2021 as a part of Spaceport India Asteroid Search Campaign in association with Hardin-Simmons University Texas.

Making an impact through STEM

While the telescope turned out to be a game-changer for him in the world of space, it was a robotics course that made him fall in love with technology. Over the years, this led him to be selected by Peace First, the world's largest incubator for youth-led social change initiatives, for a project grant. "It's a mini-grant for projects along the lines of social change. I won $250 with which I started Project Gyan in 2020." Started during the pandemic, he initially needed no funds as live workshops for the underprivileged kids were happening virtually.

Being the vice president of the Interact Club at his school, Joy came in touch with the Rotary Club and zeroed in on an institution that has many underprivileged kids. "I began with a 1–2-hour class every Saturday wherein I performed experiments and explained concepts. Later, I expanded Project Gyan to four more schools in Nagpur and two tribal schools in Maharashtra," adds the changemaker who provides kits to schools for students to get hands-on experience in science practical. "I love science, and I understand its potential. I want these kids to explore their potential through Project Gyan," says Joy, who is now working with a team that looks into distribution and planning, maintaining the website, social media, and creating videos.

What was earlier a two-month program has now turned into a year-long curriculum, thanks to the overhaul of Project Gyan - which now includes STEM education and entrepreneurship. "We wanted a holistic approach." Having seen his mom always helping people, this feeling of giving back was inculcated in Joy at a very young age. For him, Project Gyan is very personal since it's named after his grandmother. "Another reason I ventured into it was guilt. Seeing others who don't have enough resources eats me up, while we have so many opportunities. I want to bridge that gap."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q6JhvjVoc4&t=528s

Future plans

Joy, who is currently in Class 12, has plans of pursuing a double major in computer science and international relations or public policy from the Ivy Leagues. "Working with the UN is my dream. But at some stage, I would want to launch my start-up in space tech," says the teenager, who calls himself a "changemaker who wants to create an impact through STEM".

At 17, Joy is busy creating social impact, and the teenager advises youngsters to "not follow the herd. Instead, explore your niche. Don't replicate another person's journey. Do your thing and only then you will be able to make a difference."

Follow Joy Agrawal on LinkedIn

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How Tanya Gupta went from NASA to Harper’s Bazaar

(March 4, 2023) How does a mechanical engineer go from being a rocket scientist at NASA to striking it big in the creative design world? If Tanya Gupta's story is anything to go by, through a lot of hard work, persistence and the courage to put yourself out there, even at the risk of looking silly. Tanya's ability to show initiative landed her in Harper's Bazaar but we'll get to that in a minute. The 25-year-old holds a software patent at NASA and in 2021, became the first Indian American to be selected for the Adobe Creative Residency. Today, she's the founder of Guptanya.JPG Studios and lives and works in New York City. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tanya Gupta (@guptanya.jpg) Reaching for the stars Tanya was eight years old when she fell in love with space, during a family trip to the Johnson Space Center. She decided then that she was going to be a rocket scientist. "I started doing a lot more Math and Science in school and when I was 11, I went to my first engineering class,” she said. “"I was able to realise that dream and made it to

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Reaching for the stars

Tanya was eight years old when she fell in love with space, during a family trip to the Johnson Space Center. She decided then that she was going to be a rocket scientist. "I started doing a lot more Math and Science in school and when I was 11, I went to my first engineering class,” she said. “"I was able to realise that dream and made it to NASA as a rocket scientist."

The Global Indian earned herself a place at NYU, where she went to study mechanical and aeronautical engineering. There, Tanya co-founded Curtain Call, a music business startup where they would sell tickets to shows around the city for belkow the asking price. They company partnered with various venues and that would give them leftover tickets to sell. "The venues were happy, the customer was happy and we were happy," she smiles.

Her creative journey had already begun in high school, however. Her immigrant parents were "adamant" that Tanya be "academically rigorous." Unlike her peers, she was discouraged from getting a job in high school. To make extra money, she chose freelance photography, taking on gigs for her friends, doing senior portraits and events.

Life as an engineer was also going well. Tanya chose a study abroad programme at NYU Berlin, where she mae her first foray into augmented reality. She was also a teaching assistant at Stanford University's high school summer camp, where she taught teenagers who wanted to take college classes for extra credit. That led her, she says, to NASA.

[caption id="attachment_28130" align="aligncenter" width="506"] Tanya at NASA. Photo: NYU[/caption]

Life at NASA

Tanya did two stints at NASA, both as a student and even turned down a job offer. The first stint was as Ops Lead on the PRANDTL-M (Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Land on Mars) aircraft at the Armstrong Flight Resarch Center. "The mission is to implement Ludwing Prandtl's 1933 bird wing design on an aircraft that is intended to perform the first-ever Martian flight," she explained. "It was going to be first ever aircraft on Mars." The teams were asked to sign the original design and that model was sent to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, where it remains. "If you're at the Smithsonian, you can see my autograph," she laughs.

She was also mentored by Al Bowers, the chief scientist at Armstrong and an expert on Prandtl's alternative wing theory. "He's the coolest person I've ever met - which I decided one day when he casually told me about the time he hung out with Buzz Aldrin," she remarked. She even "got to do a couple of barrel rolls on an F-15."

The second internship was at the Kennedy Space Centre, after her study abroad programme at NYU Berlin. There, she helped patent a 3D modelling conversion tool. Essentially, polygon-based models, the most common type of modeling for video games and animation studios. NASA had plenty of these, which they wanted to showcase to clients. However, they needed mesh-based models, which represent surface but have nothing inside to see. There was no shortcut to creating them. Tanya earned herself a software patent for creating a "one-stop shop where you can input a polygon-based model and turn out a mesh-based model," she said.

A lockdown hobby

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A post shared by Tanya Gupta (@guptanya.jpg)

Tanya eventually turned down a job offer from NASA, choosing instead to join IBM as a reality engineer in 2019. Still, she was hungry for the chance to create and "needed something to motivate me to continue that practice and skill." She spent her time learning from YouTube tutorials and to build her design cred and hopefully, be an art director someday. "My wall used to be covered in editorials and I'd tried, multiple times to get the free trial of (Adobe) Photoshop," she said. "Every single time, it was so overwhelming, and I didn't have the tools, time or resources to devote to it."

So, in 2020, when the world went into lockdown and Tanya's job went completely remote, she asked friends to send her their smartphone selfies. Submissions came pouring in almost at once. Every day, Tanya would pick one and spend three to five hours practicing a new Photoshop skill she wanted to try out. At the end of the lockdown, Tanya had a portfolio, with dozens of works of art that her audience, it turned out, really enjoyed. She posted them with the hastag #QuarantineArt".

One of her early large projects was a recreation of her favourite Botticelli work - The Birth of Venus. "I had this idea to create my own version and call it the Birth of Parvati, who is the Hindu goddess of love," she said. "I thought it would be a really cool juxtaposition."

[caption id="attachment_28129" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Birth of Parvati - Tanya's recreation of the Botticelli masterpiece. Photo: Guptana Studios[/caption]

Adobe Creative Residency Program

In 2021, acting almost on a whim, Tanya applied to the Adobe Creative Residency. It wasn't a whim, really, because thousands of hours of work had gone into building a portfolio and learning her way around Adobe Photoshop. She went there hoping to learn about augmented reality projects but ended up focussing on photoshop and compositing. "Recreating art is like a thing for me," she says - she even recreates scenes from her favourite game, SIMS 4.

"I loved Kim Kadarshian's look at Saturday Night Life, so I recreated that," she says. She copied the outfit, analysed the photograph to figure out the lighting and recreated the image in a dark room, putting herself in the picture. She also has her own take on Barbie and Ken.

Finding herself as an artist

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Validation was pouring in from brands and audiences on social media. While major brands commended her work, everything was still unpaid. Tanya saw herself designing magazine covers but without experience, she couldn't find a gig. She ended up creating a mock-up of a Harper's Bazaar cover - "I styled, modelled, photographed, edited and designed everything myself. I called it manifestation in action and it actually led to me being featured in Harper's Bazaar. If you put youself out there, the right person might just see it and it could just lead you to the right place," she remarks.

Harper's Bazaar asked her, in a recent interview, about her future plans - "I'm setting myself up for an invite to the Met Gala in 2023."

Follow Tanya on Instagram and through her website.

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Changemaker Shloka Ashok is ensuring students her age land internships

(April 11, 2023) Studying in X standard, 16-year-old Shloka Ashok wanted to intern at a company that could help her enhance her knowledge and also gains the experience of working in an organisation. Talented, and a brilliant student, the youngster made a list of companies she wanted to work at and started sending internship applications to each one. The trouble was, no one wanted to hire a 16-year-old. While, a year later, the changemaker managed to get an internship through her parents, she couldn't help thinking that she didn't get the internship through her merit. And that is what got her motivated to start her platform, InternMee. The online platform connects high school students with companies offering internships, leadership, and volunteering opportunities. "Our mission is to give students access to the right network, exposure to various careers and opportunities, and ultimately accelerate their journeys into the work world. Our platform is ideal for mid-size to large companies, student-run organisations, start-ups, and NGOs across sectors," the young changemaker said. Enabling over 11000 students through her portal, Shloka recently received the prestigious Diana Award for her contribution towards empowering the world's youth. "I am immensely grateful to receive The Diana Award and

opportunities, and ultimately accelerate their journeys into the work world. Our platform is ideal for mid-size to large companies, student-run organisations, start-ups, and NGOs across sectors," the young changemaker said.

Enabling over 11000 students through her portal, Shloka recently received the prestigious Diana Award for her contribution towards empowering the world's youth. "I am immensely grateful to receive The Diana Award and be part of a global community of young, inspirational changemakers. This international award cements my belief that young people have the power to change the world and the recognition not only provides the validation that every young changemaker needs, but also acts as a driving force to do more," the Global Indian expressed, soon after receiving the award.

Driven and passionate

Since a young age, Shloka has been driven and focussed on doing something productive daily. A brilliant student, the changemaker has won several laurels over the years. However, it was quite disheartening for the youngster when she couldn't get any internship, despite being eligible. "Back in 2020, just when COVID-19 hit, I was keen to pursue a meaningful internship during my summer vacation. My research led me nowhere, and my parents used their contacts to help me. But I felt it was unfair as they did not gauge my skills and I was hired purely based on their recommendation," the changemaker said.

While several other students might have dismissed the incident, it got Shloka thinking about how difficult it would be for students whose parents didn't have such a big network. "There are many students who would want to do their internship and look for different companies but are helpless as they don't get an opportunity anywhere. I began thinking about students in India and abroad who might not get beyond the classroom opportunities to gain new skills and understand their true capabilities," she shared.

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While she wanted to do something to help the other student, she didn't know what or where to begin. "I conducted a survey among 350 students across the globe and found out that 95 percent of them were thinking to do an internship, but didn't know what to do," said the changemaker, who after reviewing several survey applications, decided to start a platform to allow these young minds an insight into potential career paths, enabling them to explore their interests and aptitudes in search of their ikigai.

Standing up for a noble cause

In December 2020, Shloka launched InternMee - which is purely for students and run by students. "The type of internships that students want to take up and the connections they want to make do matter for their future. Through InternMee, we connect students with start-ups as well as NGOs or social initiatives that they'd be interested in volunteering for. We also connect them with other student-run organisations. All this is for free and we don't charge a single rupee for connecting students and companies," she said.

I am grateful to receive the @DianaAward This award cements my belief that young people have the power to change the world. I aim to continue working towards creating equitable opportunities & this award has motivated me to dream bigger & take on more social responsibilities(1/3) pic.twitter.com/PKgqwW3XUP

— Shloka Ashok (@shloka_ashok) July 2, 2022

So, how does the platform works? Students have to just sign up on the platform and gain access to a range of internship opportunities across fields. They can apply to postings that interest them and the applications would be sent to the concerned organisation, which would evaluate candidates before choosing to offer them the position. "We don't charge the companies either on our platform. But what we have started monetising is the partnerships or collaborations that we post on our website and Instagram page," she said. The platform has over 35,000 students registered, from over 85 countries and was featured in the top 10 internship search websites by a recent survey.

Going forward the young changemaker plans to leverage InternMee, to open doors to the less privileged, by building a focussed track for students in government schools. "I aim to continue working towards creating equitable opportunities and receiving The Diana Award has motivated me to dream bigger and take on more social responsibilities. We are in discussion with some NGOs and see this as one of the future paths for our organisation," she expressed.

Follow Shloka Ashok on Instagram

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Indian American golfer, Akshay Bhatia, is creating waves in the international circuit

(August 1, 2023) Imagine being one of the best amateur golfers in the United States of America, dreaming to become a professional player and winning several tournaments for the country in the coming years. However, when the opportunity came, you couldn't perform up to your potential. 21-year-old Akshay Bhatia was quite heartbroken when he couldn't cut in any of the six PGA Tour starts in September 2019. "I struggled mentally, I missed every cut," the golfer recalled, "I had a lot of people expecting me to play well and it didn’t happen.” But while several others would have lost hope, Akshay dug in further and worked very hard on honing his skill further. The golfer, who acknowledged that he faced challenges upon turning pro, took the pandemic as an opportunity to pause, re-evaluate, and gain valuable insights. “I got to sit back, talk to my coach, realise where I’m at in my life. After that, you know, I’ve just climbed the mountain slowly and slowly and slowly," he shared. And he might have just made a significant stride by winning his maiden PGA Tour title at the Barracuda Championship in California, defeating Patrick Rodgers. The win will earn the Indian

slowly and slowly and slowly," he shared. And he might have just made a significant stride by winning his maiden PGA Tour title at the Barracuda Championship in California, defeating Patrick Rodgers. The win will earn the Indian American golfer earned him full Tour status and a spot in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Inspired to greatness

Born in Northridge, California to an Indian couple, Akshay's childhood was not unlike other immigrant kids in the USA. However, his life was shaped due to his sister's passion for the sport. As a young child, the golfer witnessed his elder sister, Rhea Bhatia, swinging a golf club for the first time. In the following years, Rhea's dedication to the sport paid off, as she achieved the title of 2015 4A Regional Champion during her high school days. Notably, she continued her golfing journey as a valued member of the women's team at Queen's University of Charlotte.

Soon the young golfer started playing the sport and found it quite immersing. Having a remarkable junior career, the Global Indian achieved the distinction of being the first high-schooler ever to participate in the U.S. Walker Cup team. Coached by George Gankas since he was 13, Bhatia kept on piling up amateur victories till he began getting noticed. In 2017, the golfer caught the nation's attention when he contributed to the victorious team in the 2017 Junior Presidents Cup. Remarkably, at the age of 15, Bhatia made his mark at the Boys Junior PGA Championship by setting multiple records. According to the JuniorPGA website, the golfer, "carded an all-time course and championship record 61, at the 42nd Boys Junior PGA Championship at the Country Club of St. Albans in Missouri."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orWxrz67Z44

In 2018, Akshay secured the runner-up position at the U.S. Junior Amateur tournament. The golfer showcased his talent at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, where he earned two silver medals - one in the boy's event and another in the mixed team event alongside Lucy Li. Moreover, his pivotal performance contributed to the triumph of the US team in the Junior Ryder Cup held in the same year.

Looking past his failures

After failing in the September 2019 golfing season, he kept working on his game. And just four months before turning 20, Akshay achieved a historical feat. The golfer lifted his maiden Korn Ferry Tour (KFT) title at the $750,000 Bahamas Great Exuma Classic. He became only the third Indian-origin golfer to do so after Daniel Chopra and Arjun Atwal. At the age of 19 years, 11 months, and 19 days, the golfer achieved the distinction of being the third-youngest professional golfer to secure a victory on the development circuit, joining the ranks of notable players such as Jason Day and Sungjae Im.

[caption id="attachment_32300" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Akshay after winning The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic[/caption]

And now, the golfer is now one step closer to his dream of being on the PGA Tour. After winning his first PGA Tour title, Akshay got emotional while interacting with the media. "I can’t even talk," he said, adding, "I’m just excited. I love playing golf, I love playing on the PGA Tour, and it’s just a dream come true to have it.” Recognising the challenges he faced along the journey, the golfer acknowledged that it had been "a really tough road." However, he said that he always knew that he was “going to get here, it was just a matter of time. For it to happen this year with Special Temporary Membership and now to get to play all these events and to get it done today was, I can’t even describe it.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVtp2d8UlXI

The young golfer is looking forward to playing several international tournaments in the upcoming season and winning many as well. "Good golf takes care of itself and if I play good golf, the rankings will go up. I don’t look at it too much. My goal is to get into the US Open," he shared.

Follow Akshay Bhatia on Instagram

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London’s multi-Olympiad marvel, Aanya Goyal wins silver for India in informatics

(August 20, 2024) Indian-origin 17-year-old Aanya Goyal achieved another milestone by winning a silver medal for India at the European Girls' Olympiad in Informatics (EGOI) held in July 2024 in the Netherlands. The Indian team registered its best-ever performance, securing one silver, two bronze medals, and one honourable mention. Aanya's silver medal was instrumental in leading Team India to such remarkable success. "I feel very proud to have won a silver medal for India at the Girls' Olympiad in Informatics at a time when competitive programming is emerging as one of the most popular sports all over the world," Aanya said after the win. It's not the first milestone for the Alleyn's School pupil from South London. Four years ago, at the age of 13, she made history by becoming the youngest schoolgirl to be selected for the UK team to compete at the European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO). [caption id="attachment_38876" align="aligncenter" width="726"] Aanya Goyal[/caption] Competing against top coders The STEM enthusiast competed against the top coders from 50 countries at the prestigious European Girls' Olympiad in Informatics. She made use of her problem-solving skills to devise innovative solutions for the competition's challenges. The contest consisted of two five-hour sessions,

Aanya Goyal[/caption]

Competing against top coders

The STEM enthusiast competed against the top coders from 50 countries at the prestigious European Girls' Olympiad in Informatics. She made use of her problem-solving skills to devise innovative solutions for the competition's challenges.

The contest consisted of two five-hour sessions, each featuring four complex algorithmic design and coding challenges. "Five hours go by very quickly and is not quite enough time," she said, talking about the tough competition.

According to EGOI rules, the implemented code must pass a set of sub-tasks within two to four seconds, requiring participants to excel in mathematics, creativity, and efficient coding under high pressure.

"Once I made to the team, I was fortunate to be part of the best team in the world,” Aanya said dedicating her medal to Team India's coaching and support staff. "When you have such support, there is no choice but to prepare well and fight for the full 10 hours, from the first minute to the last." Sonia Garcha was the leader of the Indian contingent.

[caption id="attachment_38878" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Team India at 2024 European Girls' Olympiad in Informatics held at the Netherlands[/caption]

Finding support in her father

The maths-loving teen has always had the backing of her father, Amit Goyal, a former maths Olympiad winner. During the Covid-induced lockdown, Aanya used the extended period at home to focus on her passion for mathematical problem-solving. She undertook a series of exams conducted by the UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) to succeed in the tough selection process for the European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO). That year, EGMO was hosted partly remotely in Georgia.

Every year, over 600,000 secondary school students across the UK participate in the UKMT challenges, with only the top 1,000 invited to the British Mathematical Olympiad. From this premier group, the top 100 are selected to advance to round two of the British Mathematical Olympiad which involves a three-and-a-half-hour competition featuring four challenging problems. Aanya earned a distinction and ranked among the top four girls chosen for the UK team for the EGMO, also becoming the youngest ever, breaking the previous record held by a 15-year-old.

Multifaceted teen

It's not just the mathematics and informatics Olympiads that Aanya has participated in; she has also competed in the Linguistics Olympiad. Just as she prepared herself to solve the toughest combinatorics and number theory problems, she applied the same mindset to deciphering linguistics.

[caption id="attachment_38883" align="aligncenter" width="694"] Aanya Goyal Team UK at the European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad, held in Georgia in 2019[/caption]

“The Olympiad problems are all about being creative and digging deep. Sometimes, a problem can take many days to solve but it is all about not giving up easily and to keep coming up with new ideas,” she mentioned. With EGOI, she embraced a new challenge that extended beyond problem-solving to problem design and implementation.

In her primary school years, Aanya was heavily into puzzles, crosswords, sudoku variants, and kakuro. In secondary school, she indulged in codebreaking, cipher challenges, chess, and linguistics. All these activities have been instrumental in developing her competitive skills.

Future goals – to make impact with maths and computer science

The 17-year-old plans to study mathematics and computer science at university. While maths remains her primary interest, she looks at computing and other applications of maths as an opportunity to work on some of the world’s problems and make it a better place.

"This is serious business for me and not a cliché. I am keen to have a career where I can utilise my skills to make a real impact. I also feel a certain weight of responsibility as a girl doing well in maths and computing Olympiads because sadly, when it comes to elite competitions in these subjects, men still comprise 95 percent of the field; that needs to change," she remarked.

Challenging mindsets

At 13, after becoming the youngest female to be selected for the UK team to compete at the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO), Aanya had remarked, “Many students do not give maths a real chance.” Holding adults responsible for instilling this mindset in young students, she had mentioned, “Adults keep repeating that maths is tough, and that is what people my age have heard all their lives, so some of them adopt it as a reality.” She added, “In England, adults constantly joke about being bad at maths, creating low expectations, so many students think it is okay to be bad at maths.”

Her advice to youngsters has been to keep on practising because not only does maths become easier through practice but also starts appearing as more exciting and rewarding. “But if you approach maths without confidence and without a real heart then it can become pointless and cold,” she remarked.

[caption id="attachment_38886" align="aligncenter" width="365"] Aanya Goyal[/caption]

Chak De! India

The London teen sees herself as ‘a proud Indian’ and finds motivation in songs like ‘Chak De India’ and ‘Ziddi Dil’ from the Bollywood biopics ‘Chak De! India’ and ‘Mary Kom.’ She listened to these songs to stay motivated during competition preparation. “India winning the T20 cricket World Cup and then the Indian IMO team finishing fourth provided additional motivation,” she remarked after bagging a silver for India last month.

To encourage more girls to be involved in designing the technologies of the future, the passionate STEM enthusiast aspires to serve as a role model to overcome societal bias by harnessing her skills and achievements.

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