From the Army to AI: The Man Rebuilding India’s Classrooms
When Col. Merugu Solomon Saneev retired from the Indian Army, he could’ve easily walked into a comfortable role like consultancy, corporate leadership or even politics. But comfort never interested him. Purpose did. And what tugged at him most was a question that had nothing to do with defence strategy or national security:
So, he built a company — not to sell, but to serve.
Ocean Springs Edu Tech Pvt. Ltd., under the brand STEMClub, was born not out of ambition, but urgency. In schools across India, Col. Saneev and his band of retired officers saw a widening void: students disconnected from real learning, lost in digital noise and dangerously unprepared for the world of AI, robotics and innovation.
The solution? Built labs that cost 1/20th of what competitors offer and design them not just to teach, but to transform.
A Mission, Not Just a Model
Unlike most startups in the education space, STEMClub didn’t begin in a boardroom. It began on a footpath outside IIM Indore. There, during a Defence Officers Management Course, Col. Saneev watched groups of students exchanging ideas with passion and possibility. Over coffee, banter and chaos, a new vision quietly formed.
And that purpose became clear when he stumbled upon talks and clips discussing the urgent need for STEM and robotics in schools, especially in India’s underserved, overlooked communities.
For someone who had dedicated his life to national service, this felt like a second calling.
The Struggle Behind the Vision
Every visionary faces a proving ground.For Col. Saneev, it came in the form of two long, uncertain, overcommitted years.
Building a STEMClub was not easy. Resources were limited. Expectations were high. There were days when passion collided with exhaustion, when promises felt heavier than plans. But through every delay, doubt and disruption, he showed up with grit, resilience, and with the quiet conviction that this mattered.
When Everyone Else Laughed, He Built
Most people dismissed the idea. Some laughed. But while they hesitated, he started building. Not everyone believed in the need for STEM. Or that such kits could work without hefty investors or deep connections. Col. Saneev led anyway.
- He pushed, while others doubted.
- He innovated, while others waited.
- He built slow, honest, bootstrapped growth.
Rewiring Education, One Kit at a Time
Today, STEMClub doesn’t just offer education kits — it builds entire ecosystems.
From wireless, durable lab kits designed to be cost-effective, to pre-recorded video lessons and standardized learning modules that guarantee quality instruction, their robust lab kits are made affordable.
STEMClub ensures that every child whether in Hyderabad, Delhi, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Bihar, or even the remote islands of Andaman & Nicobar receives the same uncompromised quality of education.
These videos aren’t simplified animations or summaries. They are actual teachers delivering complete lessons step by step, with no skipping or dilution. This ensures consistency across regions and learning levels. The teacher or trainer present in the lab becomes an enabler, moving around the classroom, supporting students, checking comprehension and reinforcing key concepts. This approach also empowers teachers by freeing them from repetitive content delivery allowing them to focus on what truly matters that is guiding, mentoring, and nurturing curiosity in every student.
What truly sets the model apart is its ability to spark original thinking:
Every fourth project is “create your own” which is student-conceived and self-built, gently pushing children from guided learning into the realm of real innovation.
The goal? Let kids understand science not as theory, but as something they can touch, tweak and build with. For example, when a science teacher explains polarity, students can immediately recall how they built a fan that spun clockwise and anti-clockwise, turning learning into intuition.
A Line That Says It All
(“If you hesitate, you fade. But if you fully immerse yourself, you break through.”)
Success, as Seen in an Orphanage
If you ask Col. Saneev what success means to him, he won’t talk about revenue or reach. He’ll talk about an orphanage.
As President of the Lions Club of Hyderabad Veterans, where they have adopted a girls orphanage. He installed STEMClub kits in a girls orphanage with his own pension.
Why We’re Telling This Story
At SuccessWikis, we believe in spotlighting the stories that don’t make magazine covers but should have.
Stories of soldiers-turned-educators, of quiet revolutions in classrooms, of systems designed not for show, but for soul.
Stories like Col. Merugu Solomon Saneev’s.
Because success doesn’t start with scale. It starts with obsession, with grit and with a single decision to build, even when no one’s watching
