Bangladeshi teams win gold and silver at WICO 2025

Two youth-led teams from Bangladesh placed among the top competitors at the 14th World Invention Creativity Olympic (WICO) 2025, an international invention competition. Among more than 1,250 participants from over 25 countries, Team Atlas emerged as a gold medalist while CodeBlack, an all-girls robotics team, earned the silver medal.

The event was held from July 17 to 19 at the Seoul National University of Education in South Korea. Hosted by the Korea University Invention Association (KUIA) in collaboration with Seoul National University of Education, this year's competition showcased projects from students and researchers representing leading institutions across the globe, including the USA, UK, Japan, Malaysia, and Turkey.

Team Atlas won the Gold Medal Award for their agricultural automation robot 'Farmax'. According to the team, their rover is designed to revolutionise farming by reducing labour-intensive work and increasing productivity through intelligent monitoring and adaptive soil management. 

"We didn't just build a robot; we built a dream," said Sunny Jubayer, a member of Team Atlas and a student at BRAC University. "Farmax represents what Bangladeshi youth can achieve with limited resources but limitless passion." Alongside Jubayer, the team included Ahamad Sajid Rejwan, Istiaque Ahmed and Khandker Md Fahim Ashab from BRAC University, and Mostakim Rahman Mahir from Heritage School.

Team Atlas has previously won the NASA Space Apps Challenge (Dhaka Regionals) in 2024 and was selected as a global nominee. They also placed 9th in the Australian Rover Challenge and secured a gold medal at the World Invention Competition & Exhibition. Their advisor, Md. Saiful Islam, a senior lecturer at BRAC University, said, "Facing teams from world-class universities and still making it to the top shows that we are ready to stand on the global stage."

CodeBlack, an all-girls robotics team from Bangladesh, won silver for their invention 'Aquaris', an IoT-based submerged rescue robot. According to the team, Aquaris can monitor water quality, detect pollution, and clean aquatic environments.

CodeBlack consists of team leader Jannatul Ferdous Fabin (BRAC University), alongside members Nusrat Zahan Sinha (BRAC University), Sayra Islam Moon (North South University), and Rukaiya Amin Saba and Tahia Rahman Bevor (East West University).

"WICO was a challenge and an opportunity," said Fabin regarding the competition. "Winning silver proves that Bangladesh's future in innovation is bright." This win comes following their selection as a NASA Space Apps Challenge global nominee and gold medals at international science competitions in Malaysia and Indonesia.