Anup Paikarey of Odisha University of Technology and Research wins SmartIDEAthon 2023, receives cash prize and trip to Boston.
Odisha’s Anup Paikarey, a student of the Odisha University of Technology and Research, bagged the winner title in the grand finale of the SmartIDEAthon 2023 — an annual pitch-fest organized by GITAM (Deemed to be University). Anup received cash prize of ₹2 lakh and a fully sponsored trip to Boston.
The finalists, were chosen from over 1,000 entries from across India. The finale took place in person at GITAM’s Hyderabad campus on August 25, 2023.
As per a press release issued by the GITAM, Anup has made a winning pitch for his startup Newrup Tech Solutions, which develops heat-powered air blowers to harness excess heat from Chulas or Tandoors, converting it into rotational energy for an internal fan, at just ₹500. It thereby seeks to impact the lives of over two billion women still cooking on traditional chulhas/mud stoves worldwide.
As runners-up, Vineet Kumar and Manish Bibhu, students of Sershah Engineering College in Bihar won ₹1 lakh for POLYFUELER, which is working on revolutionizing waste management by transforming diverse plastic waste into fuel, powered by a proprietary catalyst.
Under the Best Woman-led Entrepreneurship Idea, K Ushasri Devi and P Sushma Devi from GITAM School of Business in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh bagged a ₹50,000 cash prize for their venture, COACT, which strives to empower visually challenged women aged 15-55 by addressing their menstrual cycle-tracking challenges, liberating them from suboptimal methods, and ensuring their self-sufficiency in meeting their essential needs, as per the press statement.
Speaking at the occasion, Krish Nangegadda, Chief Innovation Officer, GITAM (Deemed to be University) said, “Entrepreneurship education gives you skills that you can use anywhere. We want to embrace entrepreneurship to build an ecosystem to transfer skills for life rather than merely being measured in the number of startups. SmartIDEAthon endeavours to promote this year’s themes through collaboration and networking among young minds.”
Sribharat Mathukumilli, President of GITAM (Deemed to be) University, said, “Students should start thinking critically and asking questions. Look at all of the problems around you and see if you can solve them. If you can find solutions to problems and are willing to, able to find customers who pay for your services, that is a startup. That’s our takeaway from SmartIDEAthon 2023.”
Pawan Kumar Chandana Skyroot Aerospace co-founder and ex-ISRO scientist was the Chief Guest at the occassion.