Aman Shrivastava

Aman, a student currently pursuing physics and computer science at Langara College in Canada, is not your average undergraduate. From a modest upbringing in small-town India, where his mother – a schoolteacher – instilled in him the transformative power of education, he has emerged as a pioneering innovator in accessible healthcare technology, STEM mentorship, and global scientific cooperation.

At just 17, he developed iThink, a non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) system that allows individuals with paralysis or neurodegenerative diseases to communicate through brain-to-text and brain-to-speech capabilities. Unlike expensive, invasive systems like Neuralink, iThink uses affordable biopotential sensors – EEG, EOG, EMG, and ECG – to capture and translate neurological intent into real-time commands. Today, the system functions as a “Neuro-Intensive Care Unit,” empowering patients through AI-driven monitoring, predictive alerts, and communication assistance. The project is being developed in partnership with India's Asha Eek Hope Foundation, and aims to democratise access to advanced neurotech across the Global South.

Aman has also led the development of several award-winning innovations, including an Unmanned Ground Vehicle for military surveillance in extreme conditions, MedAssist, an IoT-based medicine dispenser, and AudioOptic, a wearable visual aid for the blind that won national acclaim at the CBSE and IRIS science fairs. His work has earned accolades from the University of Toronto and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Science Fair.

During the pandemic, Aman developed a national biometric authentication system used for banking and academic integrity – introducing a dual-authentication stylus that captures both fingerprint and signature data in a single action. His innovation addresses widespread identity fraud in India and is being considered for adoption at a national scale.

Despite visa denials, financial crises, and experiences of discrimination, his journey never stalled. His mother sold her home to fund his education, and after six visa rejections, he finally arrived in Canada to pursue his academic goals. Even then, he faced harassment in a research lab, but recovered and contributed to CERN’s Large Hadron Collider upgrade through a visiting stint at the University of British Columbia.

His work doesn’t stop at labs and competitions. He has mentored dozens of students from under-resourced schools in India, helping them win national science awards and even represent India at the Regeneron ISEF. Through Atal Tinkering Labs and government innovation hubs, he has nurtured a generation of first-time inventors. He co-founded Ingenuitive Private Limited and launched gcmsfriends.com, a revenue-generating start-up helping global immigrants.

He also led Project ALTAIR, an international astrophysics collaboration with interns from Mexico and Germany, developing high-altitude balloon software to support dark energy research for LSST and PAN-STARRS telescopes.

If Aman wins the Global Student Prize, he plans to scale iThink, make it open-source, and launch a circular model of accessible neuro-care across India through public-private partnerships. He also aims to start internship pipelines for engineering and medical students, turning education into employment and invention into impact.

Aman is not just innovating systems – he’s building bridges between adversity and opportunity, technology and humanity, and dreaming on behalf of millions still unheard.