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Manishka Dubey is known for having won The Inventor Challenge on Colors Infinity TV, for her ‘Child Safety Band’, a creation that was made to help children when they get lost and can’t find their parents. Her great passion towards STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and strong desire to help others have led her to make incredible achievements through her years of tinkering.
Manishka Dubey tinkering at a young age.
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Origin of interest
Manishka’s passion for technology and science began when she was five and a half years old. This passion rose within the walls of her classroom when the class was being taught a chapter about space and the ISS (International Space Station). Her interest further grew with a short trip to the school’s theatre room, where their teachers showed them exactly what went on within the ISS, and the work the astronauts did there, which mainly includes spending six-month expeditions where they maintain the space station and conduct scientific experiments. Following this, Manishka developed her interest in technology, coding, and most importantly, robotics, which is considered to be a powerful source of hands-on learning that provides students with both intellectual and moral lessons. “When I started working in robotics,” Manishka recalled, in an online interview with The Hindu In School, “one of the most important lessons I learnt was, ‘resilience matters’. Every failure is not a setback, but a stepping stone that brings you closer to success.” The powerful truth behind these words cannot be overlooked. She also emphasised the importance of imagination and collaboration, placing ‘teamwork’ as the main point of focus, stating that it brought in diverse perspectives, which, in turn, led to stronger innovative solutions.
Manishka with her trophy from ‘The Inventor’s Challenge’.
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The smaller problems
In order to create something innovative, one of the main tools one would need would be a blueprint or a displayed visual of what their invention would look like and what its main components would be. But before all this, a basic idea must be formed. When asked for the inspiration and process behind her inventions, Manishka revealed that a majority of her ideas came from real-life problems she noticed around her. There are times when attention to small challenges can lead to large-scale solutions, but people tend to overlook these problems due to their size. “One thing I believe,” Manishka stated, “is that lots of people work on bigger problems, but they don’t focus on the small problems that occur around one’s house or neighbourhood.” Once she took notice of these kinds of problems, a different question took form in Manishka’s mind: “Can I solve these problems with technology?” That is when the process began! Every time a bright idea clicked in her mind, Manishka would sketch, build models, and create simple simulations to visualise it. In her words, “Innovation is about connecting curiosity with problem-solving,” and then bringing about a new experience.
Tinker to Techie:Manishka Dubey has also authored the book titled Tinker to Techie. It follows the story of a girl who is called ‘Tinker’ due to her reputation for taking apart and tinkering with objects, just to figure out how they function and work.
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The tinkering process
The beauty of tinkering and inventing comes from the fact that it can turn creations that once lay within the virtual, intangible realm of thoughts and ideas into objects of reality. But how does one turn an idea into a real-life creation? “What I do,” Manishka revealed, “is basically select a problem, and imagine different scenarios. What can happen? What cannot? What should I add, and what shouldn’t I?” It is through asking this series of questions that the young techie decides the components required to turn her genius idea into a working invention. Once the parts are chosen, the next step is to scribble! To actually visualise her invention, and make it look good and catchy, Manishka draws a basic sketch of its structure. “The blueprint comes to my mind during the step-by-step process of identifying the problem and coming up with a solution to it.”
But the drawing process isn’t always easy. Unlike paintings and normal sketches, blueprints hold drawings of objects that need to be replicated and used in real life. When Manishka began creating basic sketches of her devices, there was always confusion that arose regarding their design. This included their shape, size, components, features, space, etc. But she always had her mentors to help and guide her through these doubts and confusions. Her search for solutions to small problems and creative inventions led her to the stage on Colors Infinity TV in 2022, where she won The Inventor Challenge. And it was here that she revealed her next big step for her journey as a changemaking inventor/techie.
Support in STEM
When she was on The Inventor Challenge, Manishka was asked a major question, “What will you do further?”. Her answer came in the form of Tinker Techie, an innovative startup that she founded to provide solutions and support to child-centric and educational problems faced in the world today, and also provide girls with education to get into STEM.
In a survey recently conducted on 942 students by NGO Child Rights and You (CRY), it was revealed that a major hurdle for young girls interested in STEM-related careers was their lack of awareness about the fields, with 52% of them not knowing what STEM stood for, despite 54% of them planning to take up science as their main stream of study. A portion of the young girls who wanted to pursue STEM education faced a lack of family support in the form of traditional expectations and early marriage arrangements.
Providing girls with awareness of STEM, support, and a good role model can serve as a major step towards helping them gain better access to the fields. Manishka strives to be one of these role models. “I believe that if I can do it, any girl can!” she stated, “Tech has no gender, STEM has no gender. Everybody has the equal right and opportunity to be in the field of science and technology.” Workshops are conducted, and communities are created and managed. “We offer intra-community support for girls who are facing any issues in the field of STEM, regardless of age or location.” These workshops are held both online and offline for the comfort of those who live far away.
“If you’re passionate about something, give it your best, give it your 100%. When you don’t succeed, instead of feeling low, think of it as a lesson to try harder next time.””Manishka Dubey
Challenges faced
Manishka’s path to the founding of her startup was a bumpy one, with many obstacles. One of the biggest hurdles she had to face was her age. When she was eight, she was given support by iStart Rajasthan, a flagship initiative that provided platforms and promotions for students to create startups. Supported by her iStart advisor Raunak Singhvi and her robotics and coding mentor Shailendra Tripathi, Manishka was provided with the knowledge and skills she needed to enter the startup world. “When I started my startup, I was really new,” Manishka revealed. “I didn’t know anything about the startup world, how to pitch, or grasp the attention of investors. But when I got into iStart, I got to see other startup founders doing it and got motivated.” Being new to the field of entrepreneurship, she turned her challenges into learning experiences. Manishka had to balance running her startup with her studies and schoolwork. When the pressure got to her, making her feel demotivated and uninspired, she took time alone to partake in calming and fun activities, like listening to music, playing with her brother, and spending time with the people she loves.
Manishka showcasing one of her educational inventions. The Smart Self-Tutor Device, which was created to help visually impaired children with learning.
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Manishka’s fabulous inventions
The young tech prodigy has already implemented her knowledge in the creation of many inventions that have earned her awards. Given below are two of the most popular ones.
Child Safety Band
What better way to start this off than with the gadget that won Manishka the Inventor Challenge? The child safety band is a device that can be worn and used by children in emergencies for when they are lost. It provides a geofence (A virtual perimeter around a provided geographical location), tracking feature, and an emergency SOS button to notify local public authorities who can help the child find their parents. The device also holds flashing LED lights to alert people nearby. Additionally, it has an integrated companion app for parents to locate their lost child. This device can be worn in many forms, a band, a bag tag, an ID card, etc.
Smart Self-Tutor Device
Manishka had created this educational device for the visually impaired children. It provides them with lessons on the Braille alphabet, numbers, words, sentences, etc. The device uses NFC cards (cards with a Near Field Communication chip that allows wireless data transmission) with Braille printed on them. These cards are also linked with audio feedback to provide better and efficient learning experiences.
Published – October 17, 2025 05:24 pm IST
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