Overview
The International Innovation Challenge (IIC) 3.0 was inaugurated on 8 September 2026 at Manipal University Jaipur (MUJ) in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Government of Rajasthan. The 36‑hour innovation and entrepreneurship challenge was organized by the Department of IoT & Intelligent Systems, AIC‑MUJ, E‑Cell MUJ and DoIC‑MUJ, with the chief guest, Mr. Virendra Chaudhary, Director of First India News, being felicitated by Dr. Amit Soni, Registrar of MUJ.
Participants and Reach
A total of 259 teams, representing more than 900 registered students, participated in the first round. Of these, 154 teams were from MUJ itself and 105 teams came from institutions outside the university, covering 15 Indian states and more than 70 universities and colleges across India and abroad. Notable participating institutions included IIT Bombay, IIT Jodhpur and NIT Lucknow, and an international team from Italy also joined the competition.
Sponsors, Partners and Co‑Power
The challenge was co‑powered by a consortium of industry partners: Unstop, mlHealth 360 Pvt. Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Pvt. Ltd., MongoDB, InterviewBuddy, Internshala and Code Crafters. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Mysore acted as a partner, underscoring the agricultural focus of several solution themes.
Themes, Mentors and Judging Panel
Participating teams worked on solutions across ten critical themes: EdTech, HealthTech, FinTech, AgriTech, Cybersecurity, Women and Child Safety, Aerotech and Aerospace Innovation, Transportation and Mobility, and Smart Cities and Urban Development. An experienced panel of mentors and judges supported the event, including Mr. Ankit Jha (Founder, Awarno Technologies), Ms. Swati Bansal (SDE, Amazon), Ms. Nandini Sharma (Founder, Aparajita Foundation), Mr. Prince Yadav (SDE, GreyOrange), Dr. Ester Zumpano (University of Calabria, Italy), Dr. Eugenio Vocaturo (CNR‑Nanotec, Italy) and Dr. Haiming Liu (Southampton University, UK). Panel discussions explored artificial intelligence, industry requirements, career planning, innovation, entrepreneurship, higher education and global opportunities.
Rewards and Opportunities
The competition offered cash prizes of Rs 1 lakh for the first‑place team, Rs 75,000 for the second‑place team and Rs 50,000 for the third‑place team. In addition to the monetary awards, participants received goodies and opportunities for paid internships, providing pathways to further skill development and industry engagement.
Significance
IIC 3.0 builds on the success of the previous edition, expanding into a comprehensive innovation platform that combines a hackathon with expert‑led panel discussions. The event reflects MUJ’s commitment to fostering a vibrant ecosystem for interdisciplinary collaboration, sustainable development and entrepreneurship among young innovators across India and beyond.