Indian students.
Four Indian school students have won three Gold medals and one Silver at the Eskom Expo International Science Fair held in Johannesburg, South Africa, with two of the Gold medal winners also receiving Top Category Awards in their respective disciplines.
Mumbai-based Avika Ghotikar of Dhirubhai Ambani International School received a Gold medal and the Top Category Award in Environmental Studies for her project on suppressing underwater noise pollution using air bubbles. The project explores a method of reducing underwater noise and its impact on marine environments.
Pune-based Varun George of Indus International School won Gold in Engineering and was also awarded the Top Category Award in the discipline.
Along with them, Aarna Gupta of Vasant Valley School, New Delhi, secured a Gold medal, while Nirvaan Duggirala of Indus International School Hyderabad, Shankarpalle, Telangana, won a Silver medal in Biomedical Sciences.
The Indian students were among 24 international participants at this year's fair, which brought together 340 finalists, including 316 students from South Africa. A total of 11 countries were represented at the international event.
The Eskom Expo for Young Scientists is an international science fair that gives school students an opportunity to present research and projects spanning disciplines such as engineering, environmental sciences, biomedical sciences and technology.
The South African participants were selected through a multi-stage national process. This year, 18,481 learners took part, presenting 13,882 projects across 287 District Expos. About 6,300 projects advanced to 38 Regional Science Fairs, from which the final 316 South African participants were selected. International students participating in the fair follow separate selection processes and do not necessarily go through the South African district and regional rounds.
At the international event, students competed across 13 scientific categories, including engineering, environmental studies, biomedical sciences, energy, computer science, chemistry, mathematics and physics. Projects were evaluated on factors including scientific or engineering methodology, originality, research quality, analysis of results and the relevance of conclusions. Students were also assessed on their ability to explain and defend their projects before the judging panel.
The results were announced on Friday, October 2, 2026.
