A Mumbai teenager brought Arduino kits to classrooms in Jammu and Kashmir
Project Zul teaches microcontroller programming to Class 9 and 10 students, with free kits and teacher training.
Robotics is usually taught where the equipment already is. Arav Kaul went the other way and shipped the equipment to the classrooms.
Kaul, then a 17-year-old student at Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai, started Project Zul in early 2025. It is a STEM programme that teaches robotics and coding to students in Classes 9 and 10 across Jammu and Kashmir, with a focus on programming microcontrollers. News Arena India calls him an “internationally acclaimed robotics champion.” His father is from the region, and the connection explains the location. “My father inspired me to begin here,” Kaul told the outlet.
How it works
The groundwork began in February 2025, when Kaul reached out to schools across Jammu and Kashmir and found teachers keen to take part, according to Amar Ujala. Teacher training came first. News Arena India reported sessions for teachers from 15 government and private schools, held both in person and online, and a hands-on demonstration for teachers before launch covering coding, circuitry and innovation.
Students then worked with Arduino kits, which were handed out free of cost. The outlet reported that more than 1,000 students had been reached by April 2025, with sessions running through March and April and a showcase planned for later that month.
Teachers noticed. Anupama Sharma of Jammu Sanskriti School told News Arena India, “We require more such initiatives to enhance our technical and practical capabilities.” Kaul framed the pitch in broader terms: “Robotics is more than technology, it’s about problem-solving and creative thinking.”
Official nod, open asks
Amar Ujala reported that Kaul met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in Jammu, who praised the initiative. Kaul, meanwhile, was asking for help: donated laptops, dedicated learning spaces, and volunteers for the innovation showcase.
A caveat on the record. Coverage of Project Zul clusters in spring 2025, and the programme has no website or public contact that The Kinetic could find, so its current activity is not confirmed beyond that reporting. What the coverage does establish is a specific, well-built model: train the teachers, give out the hardware, and let a Class 9 student find out what a microcontroller can do.
