Registrations open for fifth KPIT Sparkle innovation and design contest

KPIT, the global technology company specialising in product engineering and IT consulting, has announced the launch of KPIT Sparkle 2019, the fifth edition of its annual national design and development innovation contest. It has collaborated with the Indian government’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) and NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).

KPIT Sparkle is a national contest focused on creating a culture of innovation and providing students an opportunity to come up with innovative ideas to solve socially relevant issues. The theme for this year's edition is ‘Mobility and Energy for the Future’ and calls for smart, intelligent and clean solutions for the energy and automotive sectors.

Students can submit their ideas on any of the following, but not limited to:

- Energy generation from alternate sources such as solar and wind power; energy storage using bio-hydrogen, fuel cells, and other combustible materials; developing technologies for energy utilisation.

- Clean, safe, shared, secured, connected or user-convenient mobility/transportation solutions.

Participants shortlisted from the pre-qualification stage will be invited to build and present working prototypes of their solutions at the grand finale and public exhibition in Pune in February 2019. Their projects will be evaluated by a panel of national and international jurors consisting of eminent industry experts, technologists, academicians, and business leaders.

The winners will receive a total of Rs 21 lakh in cash prizes. With this edition, KPIT aims to extend Sparkle as a platform that will support the entrepreneurial abilities of students as well. It has partnered with DST and AIM-NITI Aayog, who will grant access to their incubation centers for select finalists to convert their prototypes into commercial entities. KPIT has additionally secured associations with design and management institutions.

Ravi Pandit, co-founder, chairman and Group CEO, KPIT, said, “Sparkle is establishing new benchmarks in innovation by the year. We have been engaging with engineering and science students for the past four years via Sparkle, augmenting their technological knowledge and scientific thinking. With this edition, we will take it a notch higher along with DST and AIM-NITI Aayog by providing opportunities for up-and-coming innovators to access incubation centers and convert their ideas into viable products. We will pave the way for the genesis of new businesses that will work towards making the world cleaner and greener through intelligent technologies.”

KPIT Sparkle 2019 will be conducted in four phases:

- Registration and idea submission or evaluation phase – April to September 2018

- Prototyping and video submission – May to November 2018

- Selection for the finale – November to December 2018

- Grand Finale at Pune – February 2019

Application details and further information on KPIT Sparkle 2019 are available at https://sparkle.kpit.com/.

In 2018, the contest saw substantial growth both in terms of the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the nominations. The number of participating colleges increased by 80 percent while the number of prototypes submitted went up by 20 percent. KPIT Sparkle 2018 received over 12,000 registrations on the theme of next-generation energy and transportation solutions from more than 600 engineering and science colleges across India.

Also read: KPIT's Ravi Pandit on 'Overcoming challenges to usher in a green automobile era'

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