Eleven student teams, including nine from Tiruchi district and two from Pudukottai district, have been selected to move to the next level under the Tamil Nadu Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Programme (TNYIEDP).

The teams were shortlisted at the district-level ideation camp for Tiruchi and Pudukottai districts organised by the Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation Institute (EDII-TN) at the EDII-Anna Business Incubation Research Foundation (EDII-ABIRF), Anna University, in Tiruchi recently.

The TNYIEDP is implemented through district hubs across the State. The Tiruchi Hub, hosted by Anna University, Tiruchi, covers 75 higher educational institutions in Tiruchi district, while the Pudukottai Hub, hosted by H.H. The Rajah’s College, Pudukkottai, supports 60 higher educational institutions in Pudukkottai district. The programme aims to foster innovation and entrepreneurship among students through structured mentoring, ideation camps, innovation challenges and startup support.

A total of 512 innovative ideas were submitted by students from higher educational institutions in the two districts at the ideation camp and they were screened by the EDII-TN evaluation committee.

Based on the preliminary assessment, 23 student teams were shortlisted to present their ideas at the district-level ideation camp. The shortlisted ideas primarily focused on agriculture and agri-tech, artificial intelligence (AI), waste-to-wealth technologies, healthcare, clean energy, sustainability, and digital innovations, reflecting students’ interest in developing technology-driven solutions to address societal and industrial challenges. The ideas were evaluated by a jury comprising EDII-TN officials and experts.

The selected teams will participate in the stage-II regional boot camp to be held at Anna University, Tiruchi, where the shortlisted innovators from Tiruchi, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Ariyalur and Perambalur districts will receive intensive mentoring on innovation, business model development, prototype validation, pitching and entrepreneurship, according to an EDII-TN press release.

Teams advancing from the regional boot camp will compete in the state-level grand finale at EDII-TN, Chennai. Winners of the EDII Hackathon will receive 20 prizes of ₹1 lakh each, 20 prizes of ₹50,000 each and 20 prizes of ₹25,000 each, the release added.