Devansh Jain, currently a senior in high school, spent most of his childhood building structures with LEGOs. After becoming involved in the robotics club at school and learning about the similarities between the two activities, Jain became interested in pursuing robotics engineering as a future career.

He received his first LEGO kit when he was only seven. Jain remembered being excited about the toy but also struggled to put together the tiny blocks.

“It was challenging to find all the different types of pieces and attach them accordingly based on the manual,” he said. “But at the same time, I was only in second grade. It got a lot easier from there.”

As he grew older, Jain got used to following LEGO manuals and came up with his own ideas about what to build. The challenge then became “how?” As Jain practiced building several different LEGO kits with different sizes, shapes, and themes, he learned how the pieces of LEGO interacted with each other and various strategies of building based on his own design or model. As he perfected his skills over time, building LEGOs became second nature.

“I was about thirteen or fourteen years old when I built the Taj Mahal and BatMobile LEGO kits. I think my LEGO collection shows how much I have improved since my first time building with LEGOs. The Taj Mahal was the largest LEGO creation I’ve ever made,” Jain said.

The LEGO set Devansh referred to is one of the largest sets available for purchase. Brick Fanatics ranked Taj Mahal the third largest LEGO set ever produced. Devansh wasn’t the only one who was challenged by the build, as others who tried assembling the LEGO set reported that it took them several hours to build on the Amazon review page.

Through Jain’s LEGO building career, he found a strong connection between LEGOs and robotics.

Robotics was another one of Jain’s favorite hobbies in middle and high school. This activity involved building with parts and tools as well.

“When I found the similarities between the two, there was no doubt for me to continue pursuing robotics throughout high school and aim for working in the industry in the future,” Jain said.

He couldn’t say less when it came to the similarities between the two hobbies. Moreover, not only did robotics have a design and build aspect to it, but it also allowed him to work with others who had the same interests and collaborate with them to make their creations successful.

“One of the most important things I learned during my robotics career is the value of teamwork. I’ve always worked on LEGOs by myself in my bedroom. I wouldn’t even let my family or friends touch them because I wanted my builds to come from only me. But I have realized how big of a mistake that was since working with others in robotics made the creative process more fun and rewarding,” he said.

The combination of creative design and building, as well as the comradery of teamwork, inspired Jain to continue his pursuit of robotics.

Jain continues to learn more about the field and plans on improving the quality of his designs and creations to match his success with LEGOs.

So far, his sophomore robotics team, 2602H, qualified for the Vex Worlds Championship in 2019, and his junior robotics team, 2602E, qualified for the Southern New England Tournament in 2020.

Jain explained, “I believe that my work ethic and discipline are key to my success in the future. These accomplishments may seem major but at the end of the day, what I value the most, whether we win or lose, is the time and effort that has been put into the development of my team’s robot.”