UPES has partnered with IIT Guwahati's Technology Innovation & Development Foundation (IITG TIDF) and its incubation arm, IIT Guwahati BioNEST, to launch SPARC-AI, an 18-month innovation programme designed to help students develop AI-powered solutions for clean energy and agritech challenges.

 

The initiative aims to identify, fund and incubate high-potential student innovators from Uttarakhand and Assam, creating a pipeline of regionally relevant, commercially viable ventures that address sustainability challenges through artificial intelligence.

 

SPARC-AI—short for Supporting Pioneers in AI-Driven Alternative Renewables & Cleantech for Sustainable Livelihoods and Impact—will bring together UPES' Artificial Intelligence Transformation Office (AITO) and IIT Guwahati BioNEST to mentor students from idea generation through venture creation and commercialisation.

 

The programme aligns with UPES' ambition to become an AI-First University while supporting India's broader goals of Viksit Bharat and Atmanirbhar Bharat through innovation-led, sustainable growth.

 

Recognising the untapped innovation potential of Uttarakhand and Assam, the programme will leverage the two states' biodiversity, natural resources and traditional knowledge systems to develop scalable AI-enabled solutions for local and national challenges.

 

Structured across four phases—immersion and research, innovation and prototype development, venture creation, and commercialisation—the programme plans to scout 50 student fellows, provide funding to 20 fellows, including 10 each from UPES and IIT Guwahati, and incubate 10 ventures. Selected teams will also receive kickstarter grants of Rs. 2 lakh each to develop proof-of-concept prototypes and accelerate market readiness.

 

Speaking on the partnership, 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.”

 

Participants will receive mentoring across problem identification, design thinking, AI integration, product development, intellectual property strategy, entrepreneurship, business planning and investor pitching. The programme will also include a residential bootcamp at IIT Guwahati focused on minimum viable product development, venture building, team formation, fundraising and commercialisation.

 

The collaboration also underscores UPES' broader AI-first transformation. Through its Artificial Intelligence Transformation Office (AITO), the university is integrating AI across teaching, learning, research, innovation, entrepreneurship and the overall student experience.