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AIE Lab IIT Guwahati
20–24 April 2026 · SART, IIT Guwahati

IDE Bootcamp 2026

Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship (IDE) Bootcamp — Edition 3, Phase 2. A five-day residential capacity-building programme that took 200+ participants from ideation to pitch, organised by the School of Agro and Rural Technology (SART), IIT Guwahati.

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Group photo of guests, volunteers and participants at the IDE Bootcamp 2026 inauguration
Guests, volunteers and participants at the inauguration of IDE Bootcamp 2026

About the Bootcamp

The IDE Bootcamp 2026 (Edition 3 – Phase 2) was held from 20 to 24 April 2026 at the School of Agro and Rural Technology (SART), IIT Guwahati, as a capacity-building programme fostering innovation, design thinking and entrepreneurship among engineering and management students. It was supported by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell (MIC), with the Wadhwani Foundation and SBI Foundation as programme partners.

Over 200 participants from 27 institutions across 14 states took part, with 34 teams registered for the programme. Over five intensive days, teams moved from problem identification and customer discovery through to lean canvas modelling, prototyping, product design, financial literacy and pitch presentation — culminating in a final pitch before an expert jury and a valedictory ceremony recognising the top teams.

IDE Bootcamp at a Glance

A snapshot of scale, reach and outcomes from the five-day programme.

200+Participants
27Institutions
14States
34Teams Registered
24Teams Pitched
12Jury Members
7Winning Teams
5Days of Sessions
20Sessions

Inaugural Programme

20 April 2026 · Conference Centre, Hall 3, IIT Guwahati

TimeItemSpeaker
10:15 AMWelcomeDr. Sagar Deshmukh, Asst. Prof, SART & SPOC, IDE Bootcamp IITG
10:20 AMProgram BriefingDr. Hirak Ranjan Das, Nodal Centre Head & Innovation Manager, MIC-AICTE, Guwahati
10:25 AMKeynote AddressProf. Senthilmurugan Subbiah, Professor In-Charge, TIC, IITG
10:30 AMKeynote AddressProf. Sudip Mitra, Head, SART, IITG
10:35 AMAddress by Guest of HonourProf. Hemant B. Kaushik, Dean of Online Education and Skilling, IITG
10:40 AMAddress by Chief GuestShri Gyanendra Dev Tripathi, IAS, Principal Secretary, Skill, Employment & Entrepreneurship Dept., Govt. of Assam
10:55 AMVote of ThanksMs. Ranjana Dekha, Research Scholar, SART, IITG

Program Schedule

The full session-by-session schedule across five days at the Conference Centre, IIT Guwahati.

Day 0 · 19 April 2026
TimeSessionResponsibility
11:00 AM – 09:00 PMRegistration of participants and reportingIITG
Day 1 · 20 April 2026
TimeSessionResponsibility
07:30 – 09:30 AMRegistration of participants and reportingIITG
09:30 – 10:15 AMLocal inauguration of IDE BootcampHost Institute
10:15 AM – 12:30 PMDesign Thinking BasicsDr. Sheenu Jain
12:30 – 01:30 PMLunch Break
01:30 – 03:15 PMFrom Idea to Impact: Building a Startup Journey Powered by AIDr. Sheenu Jain
03:15 – 03:30 PMTea Break
03:45 – 06:00 PMProblem Identification and Opportunity DiscoveryDr. Sheenu Jain
Day 2 · 21 April 2026
TimeSessionResponsibility
09:00 – 11:00 AMRecap of Day 1; Customer Discovery Lab – identify customer segments and build personasDr. Sheenu Jain
11:00 – 11:15 AMTea Break
11:15 AM – 01:00 PMNavigating the Entrepreneurial Landscape – Entrepreneur Talk with Arnab Paul Choudhury, Hasan Al-Mehdi, Pallab Deka, Stootee Baruah (Moderator: Priya)Host Institute
01:00 – 02:00 PMLunch Break
02:00 – 03:30 PMCrafting Your Unique Value PropositionDr. Sheenu Jain
03:30 – 03:45 PMTea Break
03:45 – 06:30 PMMastering Your Business Model: Lean Canvas Overview and Hands-On SketchingDr. Sheenu Jain / Dr. Neelam Saxena
Day 3 · 22 April 2026
TimeSessionResponsibility
09:00 – 10:00 AMRecap of Day 2; Pitch Your Lean Canvas – interactive feedback sessionDr. Neelam Saxena
10:00 – 11:00 AMRevenue Models: Importance and ImpactDr. Neelam Saxena
11:15 – 11:30 AMTea Break
11:30 AM – 01:00 PMPrototype to MVP: Transforming Validation into Actionable InsightsDr. Neelam Saxena
01:00 – 02:00 PMLunch Break
02:00 – 06:00 PMIncubator Visit: Guided Tour and Interaction with StartupsBioNEST & TIC, IITG
Day 4 · 23 April 2026
TimeSessionResponsibility
09:00 – 11:00 AMRecap of Day 3; Introduction to Product Design and DevelopmentDr. Neelam Saxena
11:00 – 11:15 AMTea Break
11:15 AM – 01:00 PMDesign to Delight: Crafting Products with User Experience and Ergonomics in MindProf. Santosh Jagtap, IITG
01:00 – 02:00 PMLunch Break
02:00 – 03:30 PMWorking Session: Design and Present Your ProductProf. Santosh Jagtap, IITG
03:30 – 03:45 PMTea Break
03:45 – 05:45 PMFinancial Literacy: Planning and Projecting Financials for Your VentureDr. Neelam Saxena
05:45 – 06:00 PMQ&A, Feedback & TakeawaysMIC / Institution’s In-charge
Day 5 · 24 April 2026
TimeSessionResponsibility
09:00 – 10:00 AMRecap of Day 4; Unlocking Innovation: Commercialization, IP and Funding for Student StartupsInnovation Manager, MIC / Host Institute
10:00 AM – 01:30 PMPitch Presentation Mastery: Assessments and Insightful FeedbackWadhwani Foundation & Dr. Neelam Saxena, Host Institute
01:30 – 02:30 PMLunch Break
02:30 – 03:30 PMValedictory SessionIITG

Day-by-Day Highlights

How the five days unfolded, from design thinking fundamentals to the final pitch.

Dr. Sheenu Jain sharing insights on Design Thinking Basics
D1

Design Thinking & the Startup Mindset

Day 1 opened with the inauguration ceremony, followed by three sessions led by Dr. Sheenu Jain (Wadhwani Foundation): Design Thinking Basics, introducing the human-centred, iterative approach to innovation; From Idea to Impact, on building a startup journey powered by AI, illustrated through examples such as Haldiram’s growth story; and Problem Identification and Opportunity Discovery, where participants practised problem-mapping, brainstorming and stakeholder analysis.

Entrepreneurial talk with young startup founders
D2

Customers, Founders & the Business Model

Day 2 began with the Customer Discovery Lab, helping teams define customer segments and personas. An Entrepreneur Talk panel – Arnab Paul Choudhury (Viksit Labs), Hasan Al-Mehdi (Fuloni), Pallab Deka (MYSUFU Technologies) and Stootee Baruah (AlgoBrain Innovations) – shared first-hand founder experiences. Sessions on Crafting Your Unique Value Proposition and Mastering Your Business Model: Lean Canvas (Dr. Sheenu Jain & Dr. Neelam Saxena) closed the day with hands-on sketching of business models.

Participants visiting BioNEST, IITG
D3

Revenue, Prototyping & the Incubator Visit

Dr. Neelam Saxena led sessions on Pitching the Lean Canvas, Revenue Models and Prototype to MVP, guiding teams from validation to early-stage venture solutions. The day concluded with a guided visit to BioNEST IIT Guwahati and the Technology Incubation Centre (TIC), giving participants direct exposure to the startup and incubation ecosystem at IIT Guwahati.

Prof. Santosh Jagtap on designing and crafting products
D4

Product Design & Financial Planning

Day 4 focused on turning ideas into user-centric, financially viable products. Dr. Neelam Saxena introduced Product Design and Development, Prof. Santosh Jagtap led Design to Delight on user experience and ergonomics and a hands-on working session, and the day closed with Financial Literacy – planning and projecting financials for a venture.

Participants presenting their ideas before the jury
D5

Pitch Day & Valedictory

The concluding day covered commercialisation, IP and funding pathways, followed by Pitch Presentation Mastery coaching. In the final Pitch Day, 24 teams presented their ventures before a panel of 12 jury members from the startup and innovation ecosystem, evaluated on novelty, market feasibility, business model clarity, impact and presentation quality. The Bootcamp closed with a Valedictory Session where 7 winning teams received trophies and certificates, and all participants received certificates of participation.

Jury Panel (Pitch Day) · 12 Members

Prof. Ajay Kalamdhad (Dept. of Civil Engineering, IITG) · Ms. Urmi Buragohain (CEO, TIC-IITG) · Dr. Biswadeep Das (Incubation Manager, AIC NIPER) · Dr. Prashant Patil (Mehta School of Data Science and AI, IITG) · Dr. Meena Khwairakpam (SART, IITG) · Mr. Kankan Jyoti Kharghoria (Sr. Manager, Assam Startup) · Dr. Dipankar Mandal (SART, IITG) · Dr. Abraham Cyril Issac (School of Business, IITG) · Smt. Monsumi Gogoi (Guwahati Biotech Park) · Dr. Swapnil Sinha (CEO, BioNEST, IITG) · Mr. Arnab Paul Choudhury (Founder, Viksit Labs)

Valedictory Guests

Dr. Hirak Ranjan Das (Nodal Centre Head & Innovation Manager, MIC, AICTE) · Prof. Neelam Saxena (Dean Academics, IMS Noida & Expert, Wadhwani Foundation) · Mr. Ranjit Kumar Jha (Deputy General Manager, SBI Local Head Office, Guwahati) · Prof. Sudip Mitra (Head, SART, IIT Guwahati)

What Participants Said

Real posts and messages shared by student participants after IDE Bootcamp 2026.

Testimonial post by Sthapana Chowdhury
Sthapana Chowdhury B.Tech ME’28 · Design Enthusiast
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Testimonial post by Udita Sutradhar
Udita Sutradhar Computer Science Student
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Testimonial post by Abhilash Das
Abhilash Das Founder, Vriddhi 2.0 · 1st Prize Winner
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Testimonial post by Dhiraj Singh
Dhiraj Singh APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University
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Testimonial post by Ayush Kumar
Ayush Kumar Government Engineering College, Vaishali
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Testimonial post by Saujyendra Dutta
Saujyendra Dutta Front-End Engineer · Full-Stack Developer
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Testimonial post by Manash Das
Manash Das M.Sc. CS, NIELIT · HPC-AI Intern
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Testimonial post by Aditya
Aditya Participant
Shared via WhatsApp
Testimonial post by Debika
Debika Jorhat Institute of Science and Technology
Shared via WhatsApp
Testimonial post by Saumyajeet Das
Saumyajeet Das Youth Leader, NIELIT · MeitY, Govt. of India
Shared on LinkedIn
Testimonial post by Koustav Singh
Koustav Singh Full-Stack MERN Developer
Shared on LinkedIn

Media Coverage

IDE Bootcamp 2026 was covered by regional press, including The Sentinel and Niyomiya Barta.

Newspaper coverage of IDE Bootcamp 2026 in The Sentinel
Source: The Sentinel
Newspaper coverage of IDE Bootcamp 2026 in Niyomiya Barta
Source: Niyomiya Barta
Newspaper coverage of IDE Bootcamp 2026 in Niyomiya Barta
Source: Niyomiya Barta
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