Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi) marked ten years of its structured entrepreneurship and incubation journey with the Decennial Celebration Ceremony, commemorating a decade of institution-building, student innovation, and startup impact.
While entrepreneurial activity existed on campus earlier, 2016 marked a defining institutional milestone with the formal incorporation of the Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell) as the third official student body of IIIT-Delhi, alongside the Student Council and Student Senate. At the same time, the IIIT-Delhi Innovation and Incubation Centre (IIC) was created to support ventures led by students, faculty, and alumni, along with research-based startups.
Over the past ten years, IIIT-Delhi has developed a strong entrepreneurship ecosystem that combines academics, research, industry partnerships, and public policy support. Key initiatives like PitchCafé have encouraged interaction between student founders and investors, leading to funding, mentorship, and pilot projects. Startup Internship Fairs have paired students with early-stage companies, building a robust talent pipeline and giving students a taste of entrepreneurship before graduation. Startup Fairs and Demo Days have raised visibility for startups among businesses, alumni, and other partners.
On the academic front, IIIT-Delhi has institutionalized entrepreneurship by introducing an Entrepreneurship Minor for B.Tech students, enabling innovation and venture creation alongside core technical training. Policies such as the Student Entrepreneurship Break, Faculty Entrepreneurship Courses, and credit-linked B.Tech projects with startup outcomes have enabled founders to pursue ventures without compromising academic rigor. The institute has also formally adopted and implemented the National Innovation and Startup Policy (NISP).
Structured programs such as PRECUBE (pre-incubation accelerator), startup bootcamps, alumni fellowships, entrepreneur-in-residence initiatives, and deep corporate partnerships have collectively supported more than 200 startups. These ventures span diverse sectors, including deep-tech, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, healthtech, fintech, climate technology, and social innovation. Several incubated startups have achieved successful exits, raised follow-on funding, expanded nationally and globally, and five startups have been featured on Shark Tank India.
Recently, the Government of Delhi launched the Campus to Market initiative to identify and nurture student-led innovations across universities, colleges, and ITIs in the capital. Following a rigorous multi-stage selection process, the top 100 student startup teams from 42 higher educational institutions were shortlisted, of which 13 startups came from IIIT Delhi alone. These teams were recognized at the Delhi Startup Yuva Festival by Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Hon’ble Union Minister for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Smt. Rekha Gupta, Hon’ble Chief Minister of NCT of Delhi, and Shri Ashish Sood, Hon’ble Minister for Education of NCT of Delhi, received cumulative funding of ₹23 lakh from the Government of Delhi, underscoring the national competitiveness, scalability, and real-world impact of research-driven innovation emerging from IIIT Delhi.
The decennial ceremony featured distinguished guests, including Shri Abhishek Singh, IAS, Director General, NIC and Additional Secretary, MeitY, Government of India, Dr. Prince Kohli, President & CEO, Sauce Labs, San Francisco, USA, and Shradha Sharma, Founder & CEO, YourStory. The event also marked the release of the 10-Year Innovation and Entrepreneurship Impact Report, documenting the evolution, milestones, and outcomes of IIIT-Delhi’s entrepreneurship journey.
Prof. Pankaj Vajpayee, Dean (Corporate Relations & Entrepreneurship), IIIT-Delhi talking about the celebration said, “Academic reforms like the Entrepreneurship Minor, faculty entrepreneurship policies, and entrepreneurship-linked B.Tech projects have institutionalized innovation on campus. We are grateful for the continued support of organizations such as the Department of Science and Technology (DST), MeitY, Startup India, and the Government of Delhi in strengthening this ecosystem. This decennial milestone reflects our commitment to nurturing innovators who are technically strong, industry-ready, and capable of building solutions of national and global relevance.”
Abhishek Singh, IAS, Director General, NIC & Additional Secretary, MeitY, commented, “Institutions like IIIT Delhi play a critical role in shaping India’s innovation-led growth by seamlessly integrating technology, research, AI, and entrepreneurship. The strong startup outcomes demonstrated over the last decade reflect the institute’s ability to translate academic excellence into scalable, real-world solutions aligned with national priorities.”
The Decennial Celebration ended with an Awards Ceremony recognizing the students, alumni, staff, and faculty members who contributed to the startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem with their innovation, vision, and leadership.
