I’m Kayan Shah — a student engineer, researcher, and programmer based in London. I’ve competed at international finals three times across engineering, robotics, and design, independently published research recognised by the British Science Association, and built software tools used by teams across the UK. I work across the full stack — from machining and wiring a race car to writing autonomous robot code to shipping iOS apps — and I’m equally at home in a machine shop and a terminal.

On the hardware side, I founded HABS PowerStrike from scratch in Year 8 — a Greenpower electric car team with very little prior existence at the school. I secured over £1,500 in sponsorship, owned the full mechanical design, electronics, and wiring, and led the team to the Greenpower International Finals in our very first year, placing 1st in the Regional Portfolio Award. Simultaneously, I lead VEX Robotics Team 34071B (Habs Gliders) as Team Leader: we qualified for and competed at the 2026 VEX World Championships in St. Louis — winning the Judges Award, given to teams that demonstrate exceptional qualities beyond the scorecard. Our VEX Virtual Robot programme ranked 1st in the UK and 11th globally at middle school level.

My research interest sits at the intersection of technology and accessibility. In 2024, I independently designed and executed a study on AI chatbot adoption among elderly care home residents — an interest that grew directly out of my volunteering at Burleigh House. I surveyed 19 residents aged 60–100, and found that motivation, not technical capability, is the primary barrier to adoption, recommending voice-controlled conversational AI as the most viable path forward. The study earned a CREST Silver Award from the British Science Association. Academically, I sit Cambridge IGCSE Computer Science a year ahead of schedule and was selected as 1 of only 10 students school-wide for the Higher Level Partnership AQA programme.

I take leadership seriously. As Editor-in-Chief of ENIGMA — the school Computer Science magazine — I’m directing the 2026 edition and driving a planned multi-school expansion to less advantaged partner schools, with the aim of making high-quality CS publishing more widely accessible. I also sit on the school’s TEDx organising committee and manage technical production for major school events and headmaster assemblies as part of the AV team. In May 2026, I was nominated WD6-er of the Month for contributions to my local community.

Outside of engineering, I play guitar to Grade 7 and bassoon in three school ensembles, serve as an RAF cadet in the Combined Cadet Force, have completed my Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award and am partway through Silver, and volunteer regularly at Burleigh House Care Home. I believe breadth matters — the best engineers bring curiosity from outside their field, and I work hard to build that.