What if one day of volunteering could spark a child’s next big idea?
On 21 September 2026, volunteers from ServiceNow India spent a day with middle-school students at ZPHS Gachibowli, Hyderabad. The school is part of the Tinker on Wheels (ToW) programme, supported by ServiceNow through its partnership with Young Tinker Foundation.
Not just a classroom visit
This was not a visit where adults talk and children listen. Volunteers sat down with small groups of students and got hands-on: building rockets, launching them, solving problems, asking questions and learning together.
Each volunteer mentored a small group and helped the children spot problems they see around them every day, and then, more importantly, think of their own solutions. From drainage and mosquitoes to the construction happening around their homes, the students came up with ideas that were simple, practical and completely their own. They sketched them in their Idea Books and built paper models to show how they would work.
Planning with the community
Volunteers also took part in a community planning workshop, working alongside community members to turn ideas into action. Our Founder and CEO, Mr. Anil Pradhan, joined the volunteers on the ground and spent time talking with the students and the community.
In the volunteers’ own words
It was like a literal activity at the grassroots level. The kids were really thinking through their real life problems, and they really have solutions to a lot of the things that we take for granted. The diversity in problems we heard today was awesome. They are definitely a bunch that can be nurtured into real world problem solvers in the future. I have been humbled by the amount of creativity I have been exposed to.
ServiceNow volunteer
I was really nervous that I don’t know Telugu, and most of the kids talk in Telugu. But the five kids I sat with understood that, and translated among themselves. It was such an awesome interaction. These kids are really brilliant. They are giving really nice solutions to the problems they face in their community, and they are the future of our nation.
Yadu, ServiceNow volunteer
STEM before AI
As the ServiceNow team put it, the foundation for AI upskilling is built long before AI. It is built through STEM, curiosity and problem-solving. Sometimes the right mentor is all it takes to help a child see that they can be a problem-solver too.
For us, this is what volunteering can look like. Not just giving time, but giving children an experience they remember. Not just talking about STEM, but building, testing and learning together.
Thank you to every ServiceNow volunteer, the students and teachers of ZPHS Gachibowli, and the community members who joined us.
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