Surrey students build non-profit to inspire next generation of robotics enthusiasts
Published 4:00 pm Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Spark Labs founders Jason Luo and Rohan Gill have spent the past year introducing local students to robotics before donating $1,000 in program proceeds to Surrey Libraries Semiahmoo branch.
These Southridge School students, who will be entering Grade 12 in the fall, share that this all began with their own fascinations towards robotics.
Luo and Gill both explain that when they first stepped into the world of robotics, they remember feeling very overwhelmed and intimated by the complexity of it all.
Years later, the duo decided that instead of letting younger students face the same uncertainty, they would create a place where children could explore robotics in a welcoming environment.
This idea later became Spark Labs, a student-led non-profit organization that has been introducing students in Grades 5 to 7 to robotics through weekly hands-on classes focused on creativity, problem-solving and teamwork.
“We were both very into robotics at school and when we started in Grade 9, we were very overwhelmed with how complex robotics is,” Luo told Peace Arch News. “We thought it would be a good opportunity to have these kids not feel the same stress and pressure that we did when we started, and have them feel welcomed into this STEM community.”
Spark Labs was originally meant to be a robotics club at Southridge, but when there wasn’t enough space to launch the program, the pair decided to take the idea beyond the classrooms and into the larger White Rock and South Surrey community.
The non-profit’s name actually was inspired by Luo and Gill’s mission.
“This is supposed to be the first step into robotics,” said Gill. “It’s sparking things that would help you grow into a flame and create a love for robotics.”
Over the past year, the program has since grown into more than just robotics lessons.
Luo shared that one of his favourite moments through the year has been seeing students become excited to attend each week and build friendships.
“I was really glad when we started seeing the kids actually looking forward to coming and becoming friends with one another, and it wasn’t just something their parents were forcing them to come to every week,” explained Luo.
Gill shared that he has enjoyed watching the students become increasingly confident as they learned new skills.
“We saw a lot of independent thinking where they would see a problem and know how to approach it instead of us offering a solution,” he said. “By the end of the program, they were becoming much more original with their work.”
The duo shared that seeing that growth has reinforced the reason they started Spark Labs in the first place.
“A lot of this began because we felt we didn’t have the same opportunities as kids to be in the world of robotics,” said Gill. “We wished that we had those opportunities.”
After a successful first year, Luo and Gill decided to give back to another place that inspired learning. Using the proceeds obtained from the non-profit, Spark Labs donated $1,000 to Semiahmoo Library after asking participating families where they believed the money should go.
Luo said many suggested the library because it had been an important part of their childhoods, as well as those of many families enrolled in the program.
“Both Rohan and I spent a lot of our childhood here,” he explained.
Although both founders plan to attend post-secondary institutions outside the Lower Mainland after graduating, they hope Spark Labs will continue long after they leave.
Their goal is to expand the program over the next year, launch a robotics competition team with these kids and eventually pass leadership of the non-profit to younger Southridge students interested in robotics.
For Luo, the hope is that every student leaves Spark Labs with something more important than technical skills.
“Once you get that first step and that first spark, you realize that if you have a passion for it, there’s no limit to what you can do in robotics.”
The program is set to return in September 2026.