Today, I had the privilege of being one of the judges at the MSBTE State Level Project Competition (2025-26) for the Pune Region, held at Sharad Institute of Technology Polytechnic, Yadrav (Ichalkaranji), Kolhapur. What I witnessed left me deeply impressed and honestly, a little humbled.
The Talent from Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cities is Real
Let me say this upfront: if you think cutting-edge innovation only happens in Bengaluru, Pune, or Mumbai think again. A significant number of participants came from 2nd and 3rd tier cities across Maharashtra, and the quality of their work was remarkable. These are diploma engineering students, many of them final-year, presenting projects that could hold their own in any tech showcase.
What Stood Out
Across the 74 projects I evaluated 20+ out of which a few themes struck me:
Impressive use of AI and locally trained models. These weren't students simply calling an API. Several teams had trained machine learning models locally, tailored to their specific use cases. One standout project Smart Glasses for Blind People — scored the highest in our evaluation for its clear objective, solid design, and impactful output. The team demonstrated a genuine understanding of how AI can solve real accessibility challenges.
Sensors, IoT, and real-world problem solving. Projects like Bus Bar Hotspot Detection using Temperature Sensors, Lineman Safety through Reverse Current Protection, and Smart Underground Water Leakage Detection showed that students are thinking about problems that matter industrial safety, infrastructure maintenance, and public utility. The integration of sensors and IoT wasn't gimmicky; it was purposeful.
Public safety and community impact. The Public Announcement Drone project demonstrated creative thinking about how technology can serve communities in emergencies and public communication.
Beyond the Classroom, Industry Sponsorship, Publications, and Patents
What truly elevated the competition was the ecosystem these students have built around their projects. Many teams had secured industry sponsorship, a clear sign that their work carries real-world relevance and commercial potential. Quite a few had published papers at the national level, demonstrating academic rigor that goes well beyond what you'd typically expect at the diploma level. And a few teams are actively working on filing patents for their innovations — adding to MSBTE's already impressive track record of 34 patents published to date.
This isn't just academic exercise anymore. These students are operating at the intersection of research, innovation, and industry and doing it remarkably well.
Sharing an Industry Perspective
As a judge, I got the opportunity to not just evaluate but also engage with these enthusiastic students and share my industry perspective. Beyond the technical merits, I found myself guiding teams on aspects that often separate a good project from a great product: understanding the customer's pain point, thinking about productization and scalability, conducting a thorough study of existing solutions in the market, and clearly articulating the USP of their project. These are the lenses through which the industry evaluates ideas, and I was encouraged to see how receptive and eager the students were to absorb this feedback. Many of them were already thinking along these lines — which speaks volumes about the mentorship they're receiving from their faculty.
The Numbers Behind the Competition
The evaluation was rigorous. Each project was scored across five parameters: Objective & Uniqueness, Principle & Design, Tools/Technology/Software, Result/Output, and Cost/Completion/Outcomes each scored out of 10. The top projects consistently scored 42+ out of 50, showing not just technical skill but completeness and thoughtful execution.
What was equally telling was the range the competition was fierce, with scores distributed across a wide spectrum, reflecting the diversity of approaches and maturity levels among the teams.
About MSBTE and This Initiative
The Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education (MSBTE) organizes this competition to promote creativity, talent, and innovativeness among diploma engineering students. With prizes of ₹1,00,000 for the winner and ₹50,000 for the runner-up, plus MSBTE's commitment to filing patents for the best innovative projects (34 patents published so far!), this is a platform that genuinely invests in student innovation.
My Takeaway
We often talk about democratizing technology and bridging the urban-rural innovation gap. Events like these prove it's already happening quietly, powerfully, at the grassroots level. These students from smaller cities aren't waiting for opportunities to come to them. They're building solutions with whatever resources they have, training AI models on modest hardware, wiring up sensors to solve real problems and then going the extra mile to publish their research, secure sponsorships, and pursue patents.
To every student and faculty member who participated your work matters, and the future of Indian engineering is in good hands.
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First published on LinkedIn.