Young Tinker Foundation

Young Tinker Foundation is an Indian non-profit organisation founded in 2015 by Anil Pradhan and Vaishali Sharma with the mission of making quality STEM education accessible to students in rural and underserved communities. Starting as a grassroots initiative under a tin shed in Odisha, the foundation grew into a nationally recognised movement that has directly impacted over 270,000 students across India. The foundation operates through three flagship programmes: Young TinkerSpace (YTS), which establishes permanent hands-on learning labs in schools and colleges; Tinker on Wheels (ToW), a mobile science lab that reaches remote schools; and IDEAS, an incubator for student-led innovation projects. Each programme uses the foundation's I.C.E. approach — Intent, Content, and Environment — to build problem-solving skills through practical application. Young Tinker Foundation has been recognised with the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia award (Social Impact), the National Youth Award from the Government of India, and the Rohini Nayyar Prize for rural development. The foundation's student teams achieved World Rank 3 at the NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge in 2021. The organisation holds 12A, 80G, FCRA, and CSR certifications in India and 501(c)(3) status in the USA.