Mumbai, July 3 -- UPES and IIT Guwahati have launched SPARC-AI, an 18-month programme to identify, fund and accelerate student-led innovations in clean energy, agritech and cleantech. The initiative is a partnership between UPES, the Technology Innovation and Development Foundation at IIT Guwahati and the IIT Guwahati BioNEST incubation arm, and is designed to nurture solutions tailored to regional environmental and agricultural challenges. The programme is led by the Artificial Intelligence Transformation Office at UPES alongside IIT Guwahati BioNEST to build a structured pipeline from idea to venture.
SPARC-AI will scout 50 student fellows in its first phase, provide funding to 20 fellows and incubate 10 high-potential startups. Selected innovators will receive kickstarter grants of Rs 0.2 million (Rs 0.2 mn) each to validate proof-of-concept ideas and prepare them for market deployment. The programme aims to balance field immersion, prototype development and post-incubation support to increase commercial viability.
Participants will receive mentoring in problem identification, design thinking, AI integration, intellectual property strategy and business planning to ready ventures for investors. A residential bootcamp at IIT Guwahati will focus on minimum viable product development, team cohesion and fundraising skills. The initiative will conclude with a Demo Day where teams present before investors, funding agencies and industry experts to seek commercial partnerships.
Organisers said the programme complements UPES efforts to become an AI-First University and leverages industry collaborations with OpenAI, Google Cloud, Salesforce and Harvard Business Impact to equip students with advanced technologies. The partners expect the initiative to foster resilient startups that address regional clean energy transitions and sustainable livelihoods. The scheme is also positioned to contribute to national goals of Viksit Bharat and Atmanirbhar Bharat by promoting entrepreneurial capacity among young technologists. The scheme will also extend support for regulatory navigation and market linkages to aid scale up across regional markets and investor access.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.