KEY DATES

Registration opens – 15 Nov 2021

Registration closes – 10 Jan 2022

Last date for proposal submission – 20 Jan 2022

Shortlisting of proposals – 30 Jan 2022

Announcement of results – 20 March 2022

Awards ceremony – End of March 2022

Themes of the Contest

Competition for 2022 will be focussed on the following 3

Accessibility and Inclusion is an important aspect for the wellbeing of a society. Physical and mental abilities vary based on various factors like age, gender, disabilities and differently ableness. However, most of the services, utility or leisure avenues are built without this sensitivity. Can we address or remedy this using small, incremental, or disruptive ideas?

Population in focus – Disabled / differently abled / aged / young; Marginalised (gender, class, social)

Possible utilities or services – Learning (digital, physical); Hygiene and healthcare; Govt services; Public place and leisure

Theme 1
Accessibility and Inclusion

Theme 2
Rural Well-being

Technology is agnostic to geography, so we refrain from using terms like Rural Technology.

In this theme, we are expecting innovative ideas or projects that can improve living condition or livelihood of rural population or aid in improving village economics and eco systems. The focus of such innovations is being frugal, sustainable and using appropriate technologies.

Possible focus areas could be – Agriculture (productivity, storage, tools etc), Supporting local occupations (Crafts, arts etc), Improving connectivity (physical and digital)

Theme 3
Micro enterprises

94% of our workforce is from the Unorganised sector. These are very small enterprises owned and run by few people. Due to constraints on investment, they usually do not have access to the standard tools of professionally running an enterprise like governance, quality assurance, supply chain, automation, accounting, productivity management etc.

Best 5 projects to get a cash award of Rs 15,000/- each

Best start-up project to get a funding of Rs 50,000/-

Start-up mentoring for selected projects

Eligibility

Participation in IGNITE 2022 is free and is open for the following people

All students pursuing diploma, graduate & postgraduate degrees with engineering or polytechnic colleges in Kerala.

All students pursuing graduate & postgraduate degrees with arts and science colleges or universities in Kerala.

All students pursuing management degrees from institutes in Kerala.

All students pursuing various courses in Agricultural universities or colleges in Kerala

All students pursuing medical graduate or post graduate degrees.

All students in the above streams, who have completed their course in academic year 2020 from Kerala.

Darsana members and their family who fall in to the student category as described above but located globally.

Rules and Regulations

1.Free and open to all category of students from the state of Kerala.

2.Registration is mandatory to participate in the competition.

3.Details of all the team members should be entered at the time of registration

4.A letter from your institution confirming that you are a student will have to be furnished at an appropriate step in the competition. Not furnishing this will be a reason for disqualification.

5.In case you have completed the course in 2020, a course completion certificate will have to be furnished.

Only one entry is allowed per team, one person can be part of multiple teams.

Still got queries to clarify?

Checkout our frequently asked questions

Selection Criteria

The criteria for selection of best project will be based on the following

1.Technical and business feasibility

2.Innovativeness

3.Problem being addressed

4.Social Relevance

5.Team composition – a cross functional team that reflects on the problem being addressed and solution being put forth will add credibility.

The award for Project proposal with potential to be converted to start up will be based on the above criteria and the maturity of the technical solution and business model. Factors like team composition and willingness to open-source your solution or design will carry additional weightage

Why should you take part in Ignite 2022 competition

This competition is being conducted by Darsana, and supported by major technical universities and other organisations in Kerala like Kerala Startup Mission and Maker Village.

5 best projects will be awarded INR 15,000 each.

One proposal that can be converted in to a viable startup will receive an additional INR 50,000 as an initiation fund.

Along with the cash award, we shall also provide a certificate and an insight note covering areas that require attention, risks associated and potential to improve social relevance.

Proposals with potential for conversion to a startup will be provided incubation support. Support can be provided for both physical and virtual incubation. Workspace with shared office facilities like seating space, common meeting / conference room, teleconferencing facilities and access to library.

Similarly, such projects will be provided support of a mentoring team consisting of technical experts from different sectors and business experts who can provide business and marketing assistance.

Darsana will try to connect the startups under incubation with potential investors.

Ignite platform will be open for ongoing interactions even after the event is over. Our team will try and assist you as long as it is required to convert to a sustainable venture.

General Terms and Conditions

All prizes will be awarded and paid in INR to the Team Leader of a qualifying team. The Team Leader is obliged to make payment in the applicable amount to each member of his or her team. The Organizers will not in any way be responsible for the division of the prizes among the members of the team.
Funds and Prizes: Taxes are the sole responsibility of the teams receiving the prizes. Prizes may be subject to tax reporting and other purposes. Applicable team-members agree to supply Organizers with any necessary information to affect the same and to fully cooperate in fulfilling all applicable legal requirements.
By making a submission in the contest, all teams warrant and represent that to the best of their knowledge, their submission is original and does not violate or misappropriate any third party trade secret, “know-how,” copyright, patent or other intellectual property right. Entrants also warrant and represent that there are no obligations of any nature, legal or otherwise, which would prohibit, restrict, or interfere with their participation in the Contest or submission of their design report, and agree to obtain any necessary clearances, authorizations and/or approvals prior to participation.
The Entrants agree that no information submitted by the Entrants will be treated by Organizers as confidential, including without limitation any of the information set forth in Section 7. For the avoidance of doubt, some information submitted by the Entrants may be considered proprietary, such as information that may attract intellectual property rights including without limitation, copyrights, trademarks and patents, any kind of inventions, innovation or novel ideas. However, by entering this Contest, the Entrants expressly waive their right to have this proprietary information kept confidential.
Each team and each Entrant hereby grant Organizers a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, and royalty-free right and license to publish their project reports, designs and other information submitted, or any portion or modification thereof. The Organizers reserves the right to publish the designs without attribution. Except for these limited rights to publish, the Organizers does not obtain any other ownership, rights or licenses in any of the students’, team’s or University’s intellectual property or confidential information.
DATA PROTECTION, CONSENT TO THE USE OF PERSONAL DATA: Personal data (as hereinafter defined) provided by the Entrants and the Faculty Mentor during the Contest will be used by Organizers as well as by service providers (for e.g. website hosting services) engaged by Organizers as data processors, for the purpose of the Contest. The Entrants and all other participating parties including without limitation the Faculty Mentors, agree that any personal data, which shall mean any data identifying, without limitation, its owner, by name, NRIC number, correspondence address, email address and contact number (“Personal Data”) which is disclosed by any individual or obtained by the Organizers or its Contractual Partners, inclusive of their designated vendors (“Workers and Vendors”) prior to or during the course of performance of this Contest, shall be processed, maintained, disclosed or destroyed in accordance with the relevant terms of consent set out in the Contest Terms and Conditions. For the avoidance of doubt, every Entrant and individual who submits his or her data for the purpose of participating in this Contest shall be deemed to have given express consent for the processing, use, retention or disclosure of such Personal Data for the purposes set out above and in Section 6.
By entering the Contest, each Entrant agrees to release Organizers and its affiliates from and against any losses, damages, rights, claims and actions of any kind arising from (i) an exclusion or disqualification of such Entrant pursuant to these Rules; (ii) late, lost, misdirected, or unsuccessful efforts to notify winners of any prize; (iii) forfeiture of a prize and the selection of an alternate winner; (iv) late, lost, delayed, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible or unintelligible entries; (v) telephone, electronic, hardware or software program, network, Internet, or computer malfunctions, failures or difficulties of any kind; (vi) failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions; (vii) any condition caused by events beyond Organizer’s control that may cause the Contest to be disrupted or corrupted; and (viii) any injuries, losses or damages of any kind relating to participation in this Contest.
The Organizers reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or (temporarily) suspend this Contest where required by law or if there is an impediment to the performance of this contract due to a breach by any of the Organizer’s contractual partners, or a delay in funding, or a force majeure event, or it becomes technically corrupted or if for any reason the Internet portion of the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infections by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond Organizer’s control, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Contest. The organizers further reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify anyone found to have manipulated the Contest or its operation. In addition, the organizers at its sole discretion may disqualify any Entrant at any stage of the Contest without being required to specify any reasons in that regard.
In respect of any suits, actions, proceedings, claims or disputes in relation to this contest, the courts situated at Palakkad, India shall enjoy sole jurisdiction