Maker Bhavan, IIT Hyderabad announce Vishwakarma Awards challenge for STEM students; winners get Rs 1 lakh

NEW DELHI: The Maker Bhavan Foundation (MBF), a US-based charitable organisation, will hold the Vishwakarma Awards for Engineering Innovation 2024 in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad Technology Innovation Centre. The Vishwakarma Awards is a challenge aimed at encouraging students of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to innovate and develop scalable solutions to modern problems.

This year’s competition will push for student innovation and technology development in the following three areas:

• Water and sanitation

• Green technology

• Smart mobility

The top three teams will win Rs 1 lakh each and all 18 finalists will spend a week in IIT Hyderabad “receiving intensive entrepreneurial training”, says the statement from Maker Bhavan. All finalists will also receive Rs 10,000 each and certificates.

Also read At Invention Factory, IIT, NIT students step outside their ‘branches’ to solve problems

Vishwakarma Awards: STEM challenge

Vishwakarma Awards aims at “incentivising talented student innovators and tinkerers to develop scalable technological solutions that tackle real-world problems and boost India’s economy”, says the statement from Maker Bhavan.

The deadline for the Vishwakarma Awards is August 20. Students can apply at makerbhavanfoundation.org.

The founder and chairman of the MBF, Hemant Kanakia, said: “In the crowded market of competitions, this isn’t just another accolade, it’s a platform for change. Students compete to make deployable prototypes. Teams are given financial support to innovate hardware solutions that address real-world problems. Through Vishwakarma Awards, we don’t seek to applaud the best; we want to propel the best towards excellence.”