The 12th edition of KPIT Sparkle is reflective of how the rapidly evolving advancements in AI and automotive engineering are reshaping the nature of innovation emerging from academia.

Pune, India | 6 March 2026: KPIT Technologies today announced the winners of KPIT Sparkle 2026, its flagship innovation platform that brings students closer to real-world engineering challenges through industry-defined problem statements and prototype-led development.

At a time when AI is moving beyond experimentation into deployment across engineering systems, KPIT Sparkle 2026 enabled students to work on projects that focus on applied innovation for solving industry challenges. Participating teams worked on prototypes showcasing how emerging engineers are using AI and systems thinking to build smarter vehicles, improve software reliability, develop energy-efficient mobility solutions, and create assistive technologies with real-world impact.

KPIT’s engineering leadership and domain experts were deeply involved in the year-long program lifecycle. During this innovation journey, they helped identify industry relevant problem statements and mentored participants through multiple stages of evaluation and technical reviews. While human expertise led the evaluation process, AI-supported tools were used to augment scale and ensure consistency across assessments.

The Platinum Award (₹10 lakhs) was presented to “SignVisor – The Smart Glass Interface for Sign Language Translation” developed by Saintgits College of Engineering, Kottayam. The solution enables real-time sign language translation through an intelligent wearable interface, aimed at improving accessibility and communication. The Gold Award (₹7 lakhs) went to “ScoutEdge – AI-Powered Global Sports Intelligence Ecosystem” developed by Indian Institute of Technology Madras and the Third Prize (₹3 lakhs) was awarded to “Laparoscopic Simulator” developed by Pune Vidyarthi Grihas College of Engineering and Technology.

On the announcement of the awards, Ravi Pandit, Vorsitzender, KPIT Technologies, genannt,
“Engineering innovation today is being shaped by real-world complexity — where software, AI, and physical systems must work seamlessly together. What stood out this year was the shift from idea-led experimentation to solution-led engineering. Students are no longer building technology demonstrations; they are addressing challenges the industry is actively working to solve. We’re proud to ensure that platforms like KPIT Sparkle help bridge this gap by bringing industry context into early innovation, enabling research and talent to evolve in step with global technological change.”

KPIT Sparkle 2026 witnessed a strong nationwide participation with 2,400+ idea submissions, growing nearly threefold compared to last year. The work of the 16 finalist teams this year spans across AI-driven contextual reasoning for software engineering, intelligent consumer experience through contextual AI, efficient AI architectures for edge and embedded systems, and virtual engineering enabled by simulation-driven vehicle development. Additional focus areas include new algorithms for control systems, AI-powered autonomous navigation for ground and aerial vehicles, smart actuation and motion control, assistive exoskeletons for human augmentation, and fuel-cell integration within electric vehicle powertrains.

In picture: Team SignVisor – The Smart Glass Interface for Sign Language Translation aus Saintgits College of Engineering, Kottayam, receiving the award from Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Institute Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Ravi Pandit, Chairman at KPIT Technologies, Raghunath Mashelkar, Former Director General at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and Pushpahas Joshi, Member of the Executive Board at KPIT Technologies.

In picture: Team ScoutEdge – AI-Powered Global Sports Intelligence Ecosystem from Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, receiving the award from Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Institute Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Ravi Pandit, Chairman at KPIT Technologies, Raghunath Mashelkar, Former Director General at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and Pushpahas Joshi, Member of the Executive Board at KPIT Technologies.

 

In picture: Team Laparoscopic Simulator aus Pune Vidyarthi Grihas College of Engineering and Technology, Pune, receiving the award from Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Institute Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Ravi Pandit, Chairman at KPIT Technologies, Raghunath Mashelkar, Former Director General at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and Pushpahas Joshi, Member of the Executive Board at KPIT Technologies.

Über KPIT Technologies:

KPIT istreimagining the future of mobility, Gemeinsam mit Konzernunternehmen und Partnern gestalten wir eine sauberere, intelligentere und sicherere Welt.

Mit über 25 years of specialized expertise in Mobility, KPIT beschleunigt den Wandel hin zu Software and AI-Defined Vehicles durch seine fortschrittlichen Lösungen, Plattformen und Produkte – angetrieben von KI-Frameworks mit Mobilitätsfokus, Software-Kreativität und Expertise in der Systemintegration.

Vision in Bewegung 

Angetrieben vonMehr als 2000 Fahrzeugproduktionsprogrammeund StromversorgungMehr als 20 Millionen Fahrzeuge sind mit KPIT-Software auf den Straßen unterwegs., Unsere Erfahrung ist unübertroffen. Gleichzeitig gehen wir an die Grenzen des Machbaren und entwickeln Lösungen, die es Mobilitätsherstellern ermöglichen,Innovationen in hohem Tempo und in großem Umfang vorantreiben. 

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