UDAAN2.0 at Heritage Institute of Technology Brings Together Young Innovators from Across Institutions

Kolkata : The Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC) of Heritage Institute of Technology (HITK), in association with IQAC-HITK, successfully organised UDAAN2.0: From Grounded Ideas to Sky High Impact, a national-level reward-based Prototype/Business Model Competition. The two-day competition brought together student innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs from several reputed colleges and universities, creating a vibrant platform for showcasing innovative ideas, prototypes and business models.

Institutions including Institute of Engineering & Management (IEM), JIS University and University of Calcutta, among others, participated in the competition, reflecting the growing interest among students in innovation, entrepreneurship and technology-driven problem solving.

The competition commenced on 26 August 2026 with team registration and the inaugural session, followed by multiple rounds of evaluation. Participating teams presented their ideas and prototypes before a distinguished panel of external industry experts. The competition featured preliminary evaluation rounds, declaration of finalists and a final round in which shortlisted teams presented their concepts for assessment.

The distinguished jury comprised eminent professionals from diverse sectors, including Dr. Soumyajit Goswami, Sr. IT Architect, IBM; Dr. Rajat Pal, Chief Architect, TCS Research; Mr. Tapomoy Koley, Program Manager–Data Scientist, Capgemini; Mr. Biman Saha, Chief Architect, Persistent Systems; Mr. Abhijit Sarkar, Chief R&D Officer, Sun Oil Pvt. Ltd.; Mr. Rabi Chowdhury, former Managing Director, CESC Limited and presently Senior Advisor, DVC; Mr. Arup Goswami, Structural Consultant, UltraTech Cement Ltd.; and Mr. Sumit Mukherjee, Sr. Programmer, Calcutta High Court.

The participation of students from diverse institutions and the involvement of experienced industry professionals made UDAAN2.0 a valuable platform for cross-institutional exchange of ideas, industry mentorship and innovation-driven learning. The participating teams were evaluated on their concepts and presentations, with the final round providing an opportunity to demonstrate the potential impact and applicability of their ideas.

The Award Ceremony and Valedictory Session were held on 27 August 2026, bringing the two-day competition to a close. The ceremony celebrated the achievements of the participating innovators and recognised their efforts towards developing ideas capable of creating meaningful real-world impact.

UDAAN2.0 was organised under the guidance of the leadership of Heritage Institute of Technology, with the active involvement of its Institution’s Innovation Council and faculty members from different departments. The event was supported by Shri H.K. Chaudhary, Chairman, Vikram Solar Ltd. and Chairman, Board of Trustees, Kalyan Bharti Trust; Shri P.R. Agarwala, Chairman, Board of Governors, HITK and Chairman, Rupa & Co. Ltd.; Shri Sajjan Bhajanka, Chairman, Century Plyboards (India) Ltd and Secretary, Kalyan Bharti Trust.; Shri Probir Roy, Director, Kalyan Bharti Trust; Shri Pradip Agarwal, CEO, Heritage Group of Institutions; and Prof. Basab Chaudhuri, Principal, Heritage Institute of Technology.

The event reinforces Heritage Institute of Technology’s commitment to nurturing an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem that connects students with industry experts and creates opportunities for ideas to move from conception towards practical application. By bringing together participants from different colleges and universities, UDAAN2.0 also strengthened collaboration and knowledge-sharing among the wider academic community.