Winners of Boeing University Innovation Leadership Development Program 2023-24 announced

Bengaluru, February 16, 2024: Boeing [NYSE: BA] announced seven teams comprising university students and early-stage start-up entrepreneurs as winners of the third edition of Boeing University Innovation Leadership Development (BUILD) program 2023-24. The winners were chosen from a record number of entrants this year, with over 1200 ideas submitted by more than 2200 students and start-ups applying from tier 1, 2, and 3 cities across India. The applicants were invited to submit ideas in the fields of aerospace and defense, technology start-up, social impact, and sustainability.

The winning teams are Abyom SpaceTech and Defence Pvt. Ltd. and Green Aero Propulsion Pvt. Ltd. from Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FIIT), IIT Delhi; Glovatrix Pvt. Ltd. from Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), IIT Mumbai; dVerse Technologies Pvt. Ltd. from IIT Madras Incubation Cell; Backyard Creators Pvt. Ltd., BONV Technology Private Limited and Coratia Technologies Pvt. Ltd. from Technology Business Incubator (TBI), KIIT, Bhubaneswar.

Each of these seven winners have received INR 10 lakh as a financial grant. The teams will be further supported by Boeing and their respective incubator partners for the next few months to help develop their ideas into market-ready business solutions.

Boeing has continued its partnership with seven incubators, namely, SINE – IIT Mumbai, FIIT – IIT Delhi, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center – IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Madras Incubation Cell, Society for Innovation and Development – IISC Bengaluru, T-Hub Hyderabad, and TBI – KIIT Bhubaneshwar, to organize the third edition of BUILD in India.

“BUILD has evolved into an aspirational and dynamic start-up platform, nurturing young entrepreneurial minds of the country with the right skills and support to scale up operations, develop cutting-edge technologies, and help implement ideas that impact not only the nation but the world at large. I want to congratulate our incubator partners for leading this program to success over these years and would like to congratulate winners and the applicants for their active participation this year,” said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India.

Ahmed Elsherbini, Vice President, Managing Director, Boeing India Engineering & Technology Center, and Chief Engineer, Boeing India said, “Every year, as we invite ideas for BUILD, we remain excited about the possibilities these young minds and their ideas bring for the country. The entire process of nurturing each idea to make it into a viable business solution is delivered through interactions between our engineers, technologists, partner incubators, and the student and start-up community. The mentorship, resources, and access to the right networks help pivot growth for these start-ups and entrepreneurs.”

The finale event was organized at the new Boeing India Engineering & Technology Center (BIETC) campus, Bengaluru. Shri Sharath Kumar Bache Gowda, Chairman, Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited and Member of Legislative Assembly, Karnataka; Shri C.B. Ananthakrishnan, CMD, HAL; Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, President, The Aeronautical Society of India  (Former Secretary DD R&D, Chairman DRDO, and Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri), Dr. Vinod Kumar, Director, Promotion Directorate at IN-SPACe, Department of Space, along with Boeing leadership and seven incubator partners were present on the occassion.

Over the years, Boeing India has been helping contribute to skill development and capability building in the country through other programs such as the HorizonX India Innovation Challenge, Accelerated Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Apprenticeship, and National Aeromodelling Competition with IIT.