The Productathon judging session provided participants a platform to showcase ideas, prototypes, and solutions — assessed on creativity, feasibility, and market potential, fostering expert guidance and a collaborative spirit of innovation.
The felicitation ceremony honoured winning teams and celebrated innovative ideas from all participants.
Eminent Speakers & Topics
Dr. Pamita Awasthi — PI, Founder & Director, UTF Incubator, NITH
Startup Ecosystem @ NITH
Mr. Neeraj Mishra — Director of Product Management, RealPage (Ex-Amazon)
Product Thinking, Design & Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Mr. Shahid Abbas Mir — Former CEO, NIT Srinagar
Value Proposition
Dr. Surender Singh Saini — Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR-CSIO Chandigarh
Commercialization to Scale & Marketing Strategy
Mr. Sunny Duggal — CEO, UTF Incubator, NITH
Product Building: From Idea to Launch
Dr. Rajesh Sharma — Co-PI, UTF Incubator, NITH
Fund Utilization and Accessibility
The workshop offers participants a unique opportunity to learn directly from experienced mentors, industry leaders, and startup experts — gaining actionable knowledge to build and scale successful ventures.
Highlights of the Session
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Overview
A comprehensive overview of various initiatives and achievements showcasing the vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem at the Incubation Centre, NIT Hamirpur.
Startup Success Stories
Inspiring journeys demonstrating how innovation and incubation support are transforming ideas into thriving, real-world businesses.
Global Innovation Showcase
Highlighting the region's innovation capabilities and placing NIT Hamirpur's startup ecosystem on the global map.
Collaborative Exchange
Meaningful dialogue with ADB officials and delegates, fostering future collaborations, partnerships, and opportunities for growth.
The visit marked a significant milestone in establishing Uttishthati Foundation i-TBI as a nationally and globally recognised hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Honoured guests and dignitaries officially opened the National Startup Summit 2026 at NIT Hamirpur.
Expert guidance and fresh perspectives were shared on innovation, entrepreneurship and startup growth.
Certificates were presented to 14 promising startups to support the next stage of their ventures.
Startups and innovators presented creative and impactful solutions before mentors, experts and the audience.
Venue: Mini Auditorium, NIT Hamirpur / Web Studio near central Block
Chief Guest: Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, IIT Ropar
The FDP on “Research Translation and Startup Initialization” commenced with an inspiring inaugural session graced by Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar, as the Chief Guest.
Prof. Rajeev Ahuja shared valuable insights on research translation, strategic collaborations, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship, highlighting IIT Ropar’s work in drone technology, major institutional partnerships, and the Annam.AI & TBIF startup ecosystem. The session encouraged faculty and researchers to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world innovation, setting an inspiring tone for the five-day FDP.
Dr. Puran Singh, Associate Professor, IIT Mandi, delivered two insightful sessions on “Setting up a Startup Ecosystem in Academia” and “Startup Ecosystem at IIT Mandi: Success Stories and Learnings.” He highlighted the role of institutional vision, incubation support, mentorship, industry collaboration, and interdisciplinary innovation in building a strong startup ecosystem. Drawing from IIT Mandi’s experiences and success stories, the sessions provided practical insights into nurturing innovators and translating academic research into impactful startups and commercially viable technologies.
Dr. Neelesh Kumar, Scientist-G (Chief Scientist), CSIR-CSIO Chandigarh, shared insights on the journey of translating laboratory research into market-ready technologies, highlighting the key challenges and strategies involved in bridging the gap between scientific discovery and commercial application.
Dr. Neelesh Kumar, presented real-world case studies of translational research, illustrating practical approaches and lessons learned in moving innovations from the lab to industry..
Dr. Surender Singh Saini, Scientist-G (Chief Scientist), CSIR-CSIO Chandigarh, discussed agile methodologies for developing Minimum Viable Products (MVPs), emphasizing iterative development, rapid prototyping, and adapting quickly to market feedback for early-stage startups.
Prof. Anil Sharma, DoMS, IIT Roorkee, covered essential financial fundamentals for startups, including budgeting, funding sources, financial planning, and key metrics entrepreneurs need to manage for sustainable growth.
Prof. Anil Sharma, DoMS, IIT Roorkee, discussed the essential legal considerations for startups, helping participants understand the regulatory and compliance framework necessary for building a legally sound venture.
Dr. Surender Singh Saini Scientist-G (Chief Scientist), CSIR-CSIO Chandigarh, outlined the practical steps involved in taking a Minimum Viable Product from prototype to commercialization, covering market readiness and scaling strategies.
Dr. Shashi Dhar, Scientific Officer (HIMCOSTE), explained the importance of protecting innovations through IPR, walking participants through the filing process and its significance for startups and researchers.
Dr. Rajesh Sharma, Associate Prof. Department of Mechanical Engineering. (NITH) addressed IP policy frameworks, ethical considerations, and ownership structures in collaborative research and startup partnerships, emphasizing clarity and fairness in shared innovation.
Mr. Arun Giri, CA, guided participants through the practical process of formally registering and setting up a company, covering the key legal and procedural steps involved.
Mr. Nitesh Sinha, CEO, Sacumen, spoke on strengthening the collaboration between academia, startups, and industry, highlighting how such partnerships drive innovation and create real-world impact.
Dr. Anita, Scientist 'G' (Advisor & Head, CEST), DST, discussed government initiatives and support mechanisms aimed at facilitating and empowering women-led startups.
Dr. Pamita Awasthi, PI/ Founder Director of Uttishtahti Foundation (a section-8 company, i-TBI, DST, NIT Hamirpur) shared the key initiatives undertaken by NIT Hamirpur to build and strengthen its startup ecosystem, showcasing the institute's efforts in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.
Ms. Ishita, Senior Executive, CCI, spoke on the role industry plays in supporting and scaling academia-led startups, highlighting how structured industry engagement helps translate research into commercially viable ventures.
The concluding session featured a panel discussion on fostering stronger collaboration between industry and academia. The panel comprised:
- Prof. H.M. Suryawanshi, Director, NIT Hamirpur, Chairman, BoG UTF
- Prof. Lalit Awasthi, VC, SPU Mandi
- Prof. Ravi Kumar, Dean (R&C), NIT Hamirpur
- Dr. C.S. Yadav, Scientist 'C', DST
- Mr. Ramanand Sharma, Director & CU Head, Ericsson India
- Mr. Nitesh Sinha, CEO, Sacumen (Alumni, NITH)
- Mr. Raman Bains, CEO, IIEX Softhub Pvt Ltd. (Alumni, NITH)
- Mr. Puran Chand, Department Head, Embedded Software (Cybersecurity & SW Tool Platforms)
- Ms. Ishita, Senior Executive, Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Prof. Lalit Awasthi called for structural reforms and financial literacy in higher education to bridge academia-industry gaps — rewarding commercialization and patents in faculty evaluations, adopting an IIT Madras-style Research Park model, inviting companies to set up on-campus R&D centers, establishing well-funded Technology Transfer Offices, introducing a "Professor of Practice" scheme, shifting curricula toward experiential, capstone-driven learning, and building 24/7 cross-disciplinary maker spaces.
Mr. Raman Bains shared what the modern tech industry expects from engineering graduates, stressing practical skills, problem-solving, communication, adaptability, and hands-on learning through internships and industry projects.
Mr. Ramanand Sharma discussed how sustained telecom-academia collaboration can accelerate innovation in 5G, AI, and Industry 4.0, advocating joint research labs and long-term institutional partnerships.
Mr. Puran Chand highlighted the growing importance of Software-Defined Vehicles, autonomous mobility, and cybersecurity in the automotive sector, calling for continuous curriculum revision and stronger industry involvement in training and internships.
Mr. Nitesh Sinha offered an entrepreneurial perspective on building globally competitive startups, emphasizing mentorship, trust, shared vision, and sustained industry-academia collaboration.
Dr. C.S. Yadav spotlighted the DST-supported NIDHI-iTBI programme's role in strengthening innovation ecosystems in Tier-2/Tier-3 institutions and outlined future policy directions for technology commercialization and startup incubation.
Ms. Ishita, representing CCI, explained how industry associations connect academia, startups, and policymakers, encouraging institutions to engage through networking events, collaborative projects, and innovation forums.
The session also gave startup founders and participants a chance to interact directly with the panellists, inspiring stronger collaborative efforts toward innovation and entrepreneurship. The discussion served as a fitting culmination of the FDP, reaffirming the shared commitment of academia, industry, government, and the startup ecosystem to building innovation-driven institutions capable of producing skilled professionals, impactful research, and globally competitive startups.
The valedictory function was graced by Prof. H.M. Suryavanshi, Director, NIT Hamirpur, as the Chief Guest. He emphasised the need for more such apt FDPs and student programmes and congratulated the organisers on the successful conduct of the FDP.
Prof. Ravi Kumar, Dean (Research & Consultancy), was also present on the occasion and appreciated the successful conduct of the programme and its contribution towards promoting innovation, research, and industry engagement.
The summit featured the Ignition Grant Certificate distribution and the PitchX Session.