What If the Best Engineers Never Made It to IIT? | ft. Kavi Arya #3TBPodcast

What drives someone to leave Imperial College, Oxford, and IBM Research to return to India in the 1990s—when few dared—and build a robotics movement from scratch? In this episode of 3 Techies Banter, we sit down with Kavi Arya, the visionary behind e-Yantra and India’s pioneering robotics education initiatives. From the challenges of returning to a liberalizing India, to creating robotic kits that empowered thousands of students, to scaling innovation for a nation of 1.4 billion - this conversation is a masterclass in resilience, risk‑taking, and reimagining engineering education. 00:00 – Highlights of the Episode 04:09 – Intro of Kavi Arya 06:40 – Returning to India in the 1990s 11:20 – Tata Research & Family Business 15:30 – Joining IIT Bombay 20:45 – Building Entrepreneurial Culture at IIT 26:10 – Teaching Embedded Systems & Robotics Kits 31:00 – National Mission for Education Using ICT 36:25 – Industry Experience at Mahindra & Mahindra 42:50 – Founding Iyantra 49:15 – Student Projects & Breakthroughs 55:40 – Scaling Robotics Education 01:02:00 – Advanced Training: Drones & Control Systems 01:08:30 – Innovation, Scale & Culture 01:15:00 – Closing Thoughts Discover how: A PhD in embedded systems met India’s scarcity mindset. IIT Bombay became the birthplace of hands‑on robotics learning. Students built lemon‑sorting robots, drones, and even autonomous snakes. Scale, culture, and confidence are the true engines of innovation. If you’ve ever wondered how India can leapfrog into the future of technology, this episode is your blueprint. 👉 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more thought‑provoking conversations with innovators shaping tomorrow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices