MAHE Dubai Represents UAE at Global Underwater Robotics Championship
The team developed NIMO – Navigational Instrument for Marine Operations, an underwater robot built entirely from scratch under the guidance of Dr. Rajiv Selvam at MAHE Dubai’s Centre for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (CRAI). NIMO successfully qualified for the 2025 MATE ROV World Championship, a globally recognized competition in the field of underwater robotics.
The MATE ROV competition brought together 79 student teams from 18 countries, including the UK, USA, Singapore, China, Egypt, and Scotland. MAHE Dubai stood out as the first and only team from the UAE and the GCC region to qualify in their competition category - a remarkable achievement for just their second year on the world stage.
The championship was held in Michigan, USA, on June 19, 2025, following a rigorous qualification process. The MAHE Dubai team competed with top engineering universities and veteran teams, many of whom have participated in the event for more than 15 years.
This milestone is a testament to MAHE Dubai’s growing reputation in robotics, marine innovation, and student-led engineering. The team earned the 5th-highest global score in the Marketing Display and Corporate Responsibility category, recognized for their branding, team identity, and commitment to outreach.
They also led impactful STEM outreach initiatives, spanning age groups and communities, and were featured in the HigherEd Buzz (MENA) newsletter for their alignment with UN SDG 14: Life Below Water.
The robot was built in-house by the student team, who managed design, engineering, marketing, and logistics. Their participation was made possible through collective sponsorship and support:
AED 10,000 travel scholarship from the Schmidt Ocean Coalition
AED 4,000 travel support from Cyn8 and Innov8ive
AED 10,000 component sponsorship from the Vice Chancellor of MAHE, Manipal
The project reflects a successful collaboration between student innovation, institutional support, and global partnerships.
The NIMO team included:
Medwin Sajan, Ehshaanya Gujaran, Owais Shaikh Asif, Bilal Baslar, Abhinav Arunkumar, Hanif Nazar, Kiran Krishnan, Moinul Islam Chowdhury, Adarsh Baburaj, Syeda Maizah, Shreesh Chaturvedi, Syed Rayyan, Aman Nishad, and Shaima Zaffar.
Mentored by: Dr. Rajiv Selvam
