AIC-MUJ in partnership with Headstart Network Foundation and Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences ‘Deemed to be University’ Maharashtra, hosting COVISOLVE, Grand Innovation Challenge, a Pre-Accelerator program, to accelerate the startup journey, and also to facilitate the  volunteers who has supported the healthcare ecosystem by bringing innovation, and helping people during COVID situation. With this, AIC MUJ will also be giving access to incubators and funding opportunity to all relevant stakeholders, a grant of 10 L will be awarded to the winner and a 5 day grooming session for one to one will be conducted. This event invited applications from startups of all stage and of domain, whether it be an/a Ideation Stage Startup, Validation Stage Startup, Early Traction Startup or Scaling Stage Startup and as well from Volunteers driven organisation. In Addition to providing mentorship, support, workshops, investment and funding, the event was designed to provide opportunities for startups to redefine their ideas and polish their pitches through 5 dedicated grooming sessions.

COVISOLVE Grand Innovation Challenge, winners will be awarded with a grant of 10L. 

For wide outreach and marketing, two panel discussions were hosted by AIC MUJ and Headstart team which was supported by KIMSDU as well. Also, IMPACT Award was launched by KIMSDU to support inventors working on healthcare and to support them financially for processing of IPs. 

The responses received for the panel discussions which were done as part of the outreach effort for the COVISOLVE have been extremely diverse. The organising team had received responses from all over the country with most of them coming from Rajasthan (20%+), Maharashtra (12%),  Delhi (8%), Uttar Pradesh (7%), J&K (7%). Interestingly, out of the 200+ participants which attended the session, and registered through the online form, 70%+ come from an entrepreneurship background, with 41.4% of the responders describing themselves as aspiring entrepreneurs, and 33% describing themselves as existing entrepreneurs, rest included students, incubators, researchers, faculties, policy makers. Also, panel discussions were designed in such a way that it attracts and inspires entrepreneurs and startups to avail support from AIC-MUJ by incubating themselves and also to motivate them by inviting ecosystem enablers to support them. Over 85% of the applicants have shown their interest in taking the support and incubation facility at AIC-MUJ, with 52% saying yes, and 36% may be as answer. 

Also, as part of the program, with our partner, KIMSDU, AIC MUJ, launched the IMPACT Award, which received huge support all ecosystem enablers. Some of which joined the launched includes, iTTO, IIT Delhi; AIC LMCP; Pune University; IIT Madras; IIIT Hyderabad

A diverse group of people like students, investors, incubators, patent analysts, academicians and many others from the startup and research ecosystem had applied for this programme and have actively participated during the panel discussion. While they all had a myriad of reasons to do so, one of the most popular reasons to apply was to get funding support through grants or other investors, 60% of people from the audience wanted to understand on availing support for grants and funding whereas 50% of the applicants wanted to understand on how AIC-MUJ can help them with a corporate partnership. Other reasons included support in building the product, helping commercialize the product and creating corporate / industry connections making the session highly engaging among the startup community.