There was excitement as students from round the globe gathered at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur to showcase their creativity and scientific brilliance at the 6th edition of the Young Innovators Programme (YIP) 2025.

The event, hosted by IIT Kharagpur’s Students Branding and Relations Cell (SBRC), witnessed the participation of over 3,500 students from 1,800 schools spanning countries like India, Singapore, Denmark, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

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This year’s programme was a spectacle of ingenuity and learning, offering participants from Classes VIII to XII an opportunity to dive into the wonders of science and innovation. Divided into Junior (Classes VIII-X) and Senior (Classes X-XII) categories, teams of 2-3 students, mentored by teachers, embarked on an enriching journey through a three-round competition, culminating in a grand finale held at IIT Kharagpur from 10-12 January.

One of the highlights of this year’s programme was a visit to the newly installed high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) at the SATHI facility at IIT Kharagpur. For many students, the opportunity to observe atoms, the building blocks of the universe, was a transformative experience.

The competition began with the submission of 1,200 project abstracts in round 1, showcasing creative solutions to pressing global challenges. Themes ranged from robotics in disaster management and space exploration technologies to renewable energy innovations and public health and epidemics. In the semi-finals, the top 33 teams were invited to the IIT Kharagpur campus, where their projects were scrutinised by a panel of esteemed experts. The final round featured intense presentations by the top 12 teams, six from each category, who impressed the judges with their originality and feasibility.

In addition to the competition, participants attended a robotics workshop conducted by Wit Blox, the event’s technical partner. Equipped with robotics kits, students explored programming, electronics, and mechanics, enriching their understanding through hands-on experiences.

Through YIP 2025, IIT Kharagpur reaffirmed its commitment to nurturing the next generation of innovators. .