Competition Details

Application Process

All entries received at the end of the application dates will go through a detailed screening process in four stages:

Stage 1: Application and shortlisting

• Submission of online application document from the applicant team
• Preliminary screening of entries
• Shortlisting 81 teams, 27 per track

Stage 2: Design Development and First Online Assessment

• Online Lectures by industry experts to refine problem statements and bring them in line with current industry requirements.
• Working on the initial prototype
• Submission of a video recording and a presentation of your work towards your prototype
• Online assessment by the jury

Stage 3: Prototype Building and Second Assessment Online

• Announcement of Selected 54 teams who will receive an initial Rs 5000 towards the consumables for developing their initial prototype
• Each team will be assigned a mentor for guidance and feedback.
• The teams will identify the need, research the problem, arrive at possible solutions and select the most promising solution. Following that they will model their prototype and start the production process towards a proof of concept (POC) working prototype.
• Once it’s ready, they will present their initial prototype to their mentors, and selection committee members.

Stage 4: Final Stage and Third assessment online

• Announcement of Selected 36  teams who will receive  Rs 5000 towards the consumables for further developing their prototype.
• Teams work on their pitch presentation and demo with dedicated communication experts
• Once it’s ready, they will present their prototype to their mentors, and selection committee members.

Stage 5: Demonstration & Awards: Onsite

• The top 18 finalists for all 18 tracks are announced
• Teams receive Rs. 10,000 to further refine their prototype.
• Teams work on their pitch presentation and demo with dedicated communication experts.
• Teams travel to IIT Hyderabad for the finals 10 days prior and opportunity to attend various workshops on entrepreneurship.
• In-person showcase of a working prototype by the 18 finalists to our panel of judges.
• Awards function and interaction with the press.

Eligibility Criteria

• A team of a maximum of four student members.
• Team members need to be Undergraduate/ Postgraduate/ PhD students from any govt. recognized Indian engineering college or university.
• If you have a faculty member as a team member, they can be included. Additionally, if your team is selected for the finals, the faculty member can accompany you to IIT Hyderabad. Please note: The team lead must be a student.
• We will group UG and PG students separately. Prior research work by a student team will not be recognized. Teams will be judged on the specific prototyping work they did during the competition.
• The solution must have a significant hardware component and has to be demonstrated onsite at the finals.

Assessment Methods

Our mentors and jury will manage the structure and judging of the competition. Entries will be shortlisted and judged on the following criteria: –

• Relevance: Is the invention addressing a real problem?
• Effectiveness: Does the prototype work? Is it Cost-Effective?
• Clarity:Is the scientific and logic chain about the product, idea or innovation robust? What can be the pitfalls in the chain of reasoning?
• Uniqueness: How do the benefits compare to the solutions available in the market?
• Patentability: Are the solution and prototype patentable? (IP shall belong to team members)
• Commercial Viability: How does the cost compare to other things in the market?.
• Fact Check: What has been done in the past to address what you are addressing?
• Ease of use: Is the solution practical and easy to deploy? How will it be used by the user?