Pakistan Innovation Quest Expands Robotics and STEM Access to 10,000 Students Nationwide
Backed by Aramco and the World Robot Olympiad Association, the Pi Space Science Education Centre's Pakistan Innovation Quest is bringing free robotics training to underserved schools, including deaf students and girls' institutions, across five cities.
A national initiative led by the Pi Space Science Education Centre (PSSEC) is working to widen access to robotics and STEM education for young people who have historically been shut out by cost, geography, gender, or disability. The programme, known as the Pakistan Innovation Quest (PIQ), is being implemented in partnership with the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) Association and supported by Aramco.
PIQ has set a target of reaching 10,000 learners and 300 teachers through more than 60 RoboStarter Sprints, six regional competitions, and a National Showcase. The initiative is designed to give students a structured pathway: from their first encounter with a robotics kit, to building original solutions for real-world problems, to competing at the regional level, and eventually progressing toward the WRO Pakistan platform.
According to organisers, the programme has already trained more than 6,000 learners and 518 teachers, with activity spanning Karachi, Lahore, Hyderabad, Gujranwala, and Kasur. Around 60 institutions have joined the network so far. Aramco's backing has allowed PIQ to offer free training across public and private schools, low-income communities, NGO-supported institutions, and girls' schools. The initiative is targeting more than 40 percent female participation and plans to donate 100 robotics kits to underserved institutions so that learning can continue after the training ends.
The programme has also placed a focus on inclusion for students with disabilities. At Deaf Reach School, deaf students took part in hands-on robotics training with support from interpreters and trainers fluent in sign language. For many participants, it was the first time they had worked with a robotics kit as builders and problem-solvers rather than as observers.
"Talent is universal. Access is not—and that is the divide Pakistan Innovation Quest was created to close," said Zartaj Ahmed, CEO and Co-Founder of PSSEC and National Organizer of WRO Pakistan. He added that the initiative is reaching children who have never held a robotics kit, girls who have never pictured themselves as engineers, and deaf learners who deserve to innovate without barriers.
The RoboStarter Sprints combine practical robotics training with the WRO Future Innovators project cycle, allowing students to work toward WRO certification while teachers receive professional development to keep robotics learning going within their institutions. Regional winners will advance to the PIQ National Showcase, where students and teachers will present their solutions to school leaders, government representatives, STEM partners, and international stakeholders, with the strongest participants securing routes to future WRO Pakistan competitions.
Hussain N. Hanbazazah, Aramco Vice President of Communications Operations & Corporate Citizenship, said the company views STEM education as an investment in the innovators and leaders of tomorrow. Through its Global STEM Education Program, he said, the collaboration with PSSEC and the World Robot Olympiad brings 10,000 robotics opportunities to students across Pakistan and aims to create an impact that lasts beyond student participation.
