Apply Now: Vishwakarma Award for Engineering Innovation
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The Vishwakarma Award is inviting student teams from across South Asia to prototype and invent solutions with a hardware component based on a variety of themes.
Themes: Smart Mobility: Prototyping the Future of Mobility, HealTech: Innovating Healthcare & Assistive Devices, Intelligent Machines: AI Meets Hardware & Manufacturing. Sub Themes: Autonomous & Intelligent Transport Systems, Logistics & Industrial Automation, Sustainable & Energy-Efficient EV Innovations, Assistive Devices for Daily Living, Rehabilitation and Therapy Aids, Mental Health & Well-being Tools, Cognitive Manufacturing and Automation, Sustainable and Energy Efficient Manufacturing, Cyber Physical Systems for Manufacturing.
The competition is open to teams of two to five undergraduate or postgraduate students from any government-recognized engineering or STEM college or university in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka. A faculty member can be part of the team, but a student must be the team lead. Prior research work will not be recognized, and teams will be judged solely on the prototyping work done during the competition. The solution must have a significant hardware component and be demonstrated at the finals.
Prizes include a Best Invention award of INR 100,000 for up to three teams. Participants in the industry problem statement sub-tracks may also have a chance to secure a summer internship in 2026. All semi-finalist teams will receive certificates, while finalists will get INR 30,000 for prototyping and can request Letters of Recommendation (LORs) from mentors and the selection committee. The 12 finalist teams will also get to spend three days at a Maker Bhavan Foundation partner Indian Institute of Technology for an intensive entrepreneurial training bootcamp before the final pitch.
Entries will be judged on several criteria including Relevance, Effectiveness, Clarity, Uniqueness, Patentability, Commercial Viability, Fact Check, and Ease of Use. The competition has a four-stage application process. Stage one, for application and shortlisting, runs from August 1st to August 24th. Top 500 teams are shortlisted from August 25th to 31st. Stage two requires shortlisted applicants to submit a design specification PPT by October 4th, leading to a shortlist of 300 teams. Stage three, the prototype stage, involves submitting a video and updated PPT between December 1st and 6th, followed by virtual interviews to select the 12 finalist teams. The finals take place on January 24, 2026, where the finalists will attend a two-day bootcamp and pitch their prototypes, and four winners will be declared.
