- From Dewang Mehta’s IT legacy to Gujarat’s AI generation, student innovators turn bold ideas into real-world solutions
- 245 projects from 58 colleges and 20 cities put Gujarat’s engineering talent on the innovation fast track
- ARANYA rover, AI-powered waste segregation and agricultural robotics emerge as winning ideas at 14th edition
- Maverick Effect AI Challenge draws 619 students from 118 colleges to tackle cybersecurity, water, healthcare and rural challenges
- Industry mentorship, incubation and national exposure give young tech trailblazers a launchpad beyond the classroom
NE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, AUG 14
Can a student-built rover transform farm intelligence? Can AI make industrial waste segregation smarter—or help secure cyberspace and water resources? Those questions found compelling answers at the 14th Dewang Mehta IT Awards 2026 and Maverick Effect AI Challenge Season 3, where Gujarat’s young innovators moved from classrooms to the centre stage of technology.
The prestigious twin innovation platforms were held on Friday at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Auditorium, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad, marking the birth anniversary of late Dewang Mehta, the visionary who helped shape India’s IT revolution.
From Dewang’s IT Dream to Gujarat’s AI Generation
Organised by the Dewang Mehta Foundation Trust (DMFT) in association with Gujarat Technological University (GTU), with GISC-TBI as ecosystem partner, the event was supported by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of Gujarat, Gujarat Informatics Limited (GIL), iNDEXTb, GESIA and Nasscom, among several industry and professional bodies.
The ceremony brought together Srikanth Velamakanni, Co-Founder & Group CEO, Fractal and Chairperson, Nasscom; P. Bharathi, IAS, Secretary, DST, Gujarat; Dr Vaibhav D. Bhatt, In-charge Vice-Chancellor, GTU; K. C. Sampat, IAS, Managing Director, iNDEXTb; and Dr Jincy Roy, IAS, Managing Director, GIL, among other dignitaries.
The event also featured the Dewang Mehta Memorial Lecture 2026 by Srikanth Velamakanni.
‘Mavericks’ Take the Centre Stage
Harish Mehta, Managing Trustee of the Dewang Mehta Foundation Trust, Founder of Onward Technologies and Co-founder of Nasscom, underlined the philosophy behind the initiative—identifying, recognising and nurturing exceptional technology talent.
The awards drew an impressive 245 project entries from 58 colleges across 20 cities, with 633 students registering. Eighteen projects reached the final round after jury scrutiny and live presentations.
The winning projects reflected technology with a purpose.
Prajapati Neev Bharatbhai, Riddhi Patel, Dvij Solanki and Bhargav Rana of L. D. College of Engineering won for ARANYA—Autonomous Rover for Analysis of Native Yield & Assessment, bringing robotics and agricultural intelligence together.
Samriddhi Avadhut Jadhav, Jyot K Rana and Rohan A Kale of Parul Institute of Engineering & Technology, Waghodia, won for an AI-integrated waste segregation system for industrial applications, marrying automation with sustainability.
Changela Pranav Paragbhai of Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya, Vallabh Vidyanagar, earned top recognition for his Remote-Controlled Agricultural Robot Analyzer, showcasing engineering ingenuity for agriculture.
AI Challenge: From Problem Statements to Real-World Solutions
Season 3 of the Maverick Effect AI Challenge 2026, inspired by Harish Mehta’s book The Maverick Effect, saw 619 students from 118 colleges register with 153 projects. Eighteen finalists competed across seven problem areas—crop disease diagnosis, cybersecurity, adaptive vernacular learning, rural financial safety, low-cost rural healthcare triage, waste segregation and water intelligence.
The overall winner was Vatsal Mehta, Yadav Kuldeepsingh Maheshkumar, Vedant Kalal and Tirth Popat of New LJ Institute of Engineering and Technology for their Cybersecurity Threat Detection solution.
Jain Harshit Sunilkumar and Patel Kathan Ashokbhai of GTU School of Engineering and Technology were First Runners-Up for their Water Intelligence Platform, while Dhruvkumar Kamlesh Soni, Mohit Kalpeshbhai Makwana, Heet Sandipkumar Patel, Hetva Nikesh Mehta and Jay Dhirenkumar Shah of Saffrony Institute of Technology secured Second Runner-Up for another innovative Water Intelligence Platform.
Innovation Meets Mentorship
The judging process for the IT Awards focused on originality, innovation, sustainable social impact, feasibility, measurability and presentation. The AI Challenge additionally assessed relevance, technical creativity, implementation quality, impact and communication.
Beyond trophies, the platforms offer students industry mentorship, IT ecosystem exposure, conference opportunities and incubation and entrepreneurial support through the GTU Innovation Council.
The event thus turned the legacy of Dewang Mehta into a living proposition: India’s next technology revolution may not emerge from a corporate boardroom—it could begin in a Gujarat engineering college laboratory.
