The program will scout, fund and accelerate 50 student innovators from Uttarakhand and Assam, building a pipeline of AI-enabled clean energy and cleantech ventures rooted in regional realities

UPES, a multidisciplinary university and one of India’s leading institutions for future-focused education, today announced a strategic collaboration with IIT Guwahati’s Technology Innovation & Development Foundation (IITG TIDF) and its incubation arm, IIT Guwahati BioNEST, to launch SPARC-AI, a joint initiative aimed at nurturing student-led innovations in clean energy, agritech and cleantech.

SPARC-AI, short for Supporting Pioneers in AI-Driven Alternative Renewables & Cleantech for Sustainable Livelihoods and Impact, has been conceptualised to identify, support and scale high-potential student innovators from Uttarakhand and Assam. The program will bring together the Artificial Intelligence Transformation Office (AITO) at UPES and IIT Guwahati BioNEST to build a structured innovation pipeline that addresses region-specific challenges through AI-enabled, sustainable and commercially viable solutions.

This aligns with UPES’ vision of being the ‘University of Tomorrow’ and its transition into an ‘AI-First University’, along with a clear focus on achieving India’s larger vision of Viksit Bharat and Atmanirbhar Bharat by enabling innovation-led, inclusive and sustainable growth.

Uttarakhand and Assam, with their rich biodiversity, natural resources and traditional knowledge systems, offer significant potential for clean energy and agritech innovation. The 18-month program will follow a four-stage approach covering immersion and research, innovation and prototype development, venture creation, and follow-up funding and commercialisation. The program aims to scout 50 fellows in the first stage, fund 20 fellows, including 10 from each institute, and support 10 ventures for incubation and venture building. Selected ideas will also receive kickstarter grants of INR 2 lakh each to validate their proof-of-concept and move towards market readiness.

Speaking on the partnership, Dr. Sunil Rai, Vice Chancellor, UPES, said, “At UPES, we believe that the most consequential innovations of our time will emerge not from boardrooms, but from the ground up — from students who deeply understand the communities they seek to serve. SPARC-AI is a natural extension of our identity as India’s AI-First University and this partnership will enable students to apply AI to some of the most pressing challenges in clean energy, agriculture and sustainable livelihoods. This partnership with IIT Guwahati brings together two complementary innovation ecosystems and creates a powerful bridge between regional realities, advanced technology and student entrepreneurship. We are confident it will produce ventures that are as resilient as the regions that inspire them.”

Speaking on behalf of IIT Guwahati-BioNEST, a spokesperson said, “SPARC-AI is designed to help young innovators move from problem discovery to prototype development and venture creation. By combining field immersion, technical mentoring, incubation support and access to funding pathways, the programme will encourage students to build solutions that are not only technologically strong but also relevant to the communities and ecosystems they serve. We are pleased to partner with UPES AITO on an initiative that connects the hills of Uttarakhand with the valleys of Assam through innovation.”

Throughout the program, students will receive continuous support in problem identification, design thinking, AI integration, technology development, intellectual property strategy, entrepreneurship, business planning and pitching. A residential bootcamp at IIT Guwahati will further mentor fellows on minimum viable product development, venture building, team formation, funding and commercialisation. The program will culminate in a Demo Day, where fellows will pitch their prototypes to a jury comprising investors, funding agencies and industry experts.

The partnership also reflects UPES’ broader transformation as an AI-First university. Now, with the establishment of the Artificial Intelligence Transformation Office (AITO), there is a central driver of UPES’ AI-first journey, enabling AI integration across teaching, learning, research, innovation, entrepreneurship and the overall student experience.

The university has also been strengthening its future-focused academic and industry ecosystem through recent partnerships with OpenAI, Google Cloud, Salesforce and Harvard Business Impact. integrating cutting-edge tools and globally benchmarked learning frameworks directly into its academic ecosystem. Each of these alliances reflects a deliberate institutional philosophy: that preparing students for the challenges of tomorrow demands real-world technological exposure today.

Through SPARC-AI, UPES and IIT Guwahati BioNEST seek to catalyse a new generation of innovators who are rooted in their regions, enabled by AI and committed to building a resilient, self-reliant and sustainable India.