HABIT Foundation Incubation Centre Hosts HABIT INNOVATE 2026 to Nurture Young Innovators and Turn Ideas into Real-World Solutions
Mumbai : The HABIT Foundation Incubation Centre, an initiative dedicated to fostering innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial thinking among students, organised HABIT INNOVATE 2026 – Innovation & Prototype Showcase. Held under the theme ‘Innovating for Real-World Impact’ and the tagline ‘Ideas That Inspire – Solutions That Transform’, the event provided a platform for students to turn their ideas into practical solutions addressing real-world challenges.
Through its initiatives, HABIT Foundation aims to nurture a problem-solving mindset among young learners by encouraging them to think beyond textbooks, explore their creativity, experiment with ideas and develop solutions that can make a meaningful difference. By providing access to industry experts, mentors and an incubation ecosystem, HABIT seeks to bridge the gap between classroom learning and practical innovation, while introducing students to the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and product development. The student prototype showcase featured innovative concepts across child safety, healthcare, education, sustainability, energy and technology.
The sessions featured valuable insights from industry experts and startup mentors. Chief Guest Mr. Umesh Rathod, Award-Winning Startup Mentor, emphasised the importance of networking, adaptability and persistence in entrepreneurship. Mr. Jawahar Nidamboor, Assistant Vice President – Medical and Clinical Affairs, Alpha MD, highlighted the need to identify genuine customer problems and validate ideas through prototyping. Mr. Pankaj Bafna, Founder and Managing Director, Xia Healthcare, spoke about building commercially viable solutions through customer understanding and a strong value proposition. Jury members Mr. Nilesh Maurya and Ms. Sumi Ajmera encouraged students to embrace continuous learning and remain open to new perspectives.
Mr. Vijay Talreja, Director, HABIT Foundation and Trustee, VES, said, “At HABIT, we believe every student has the potential to become an innovator. Our focus is to create an environment where young minds are encouraged to think independently, identify challenges and develop solutions through experimentation and practical learning. We want students to move beyond simply having ideas and gain the confidence, skills and guidance to turn those ideas into reality. HABIT INNOVATE is a step towards building this culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among students.”
Dr. Jyoti Chandwani, Nodal Officer, HABIT Foundation Incubation Centre, said, “Through HABIT, we aim to provide students with the right guidance, mentorship and platform to explore ideas, experiment and develop practical solutions to real-world challenges. Our focus is to nurture creativity, build problem-solving skills and encourage an entrepreneurial mindset, empowering students to turn their ideas into meaningful innovations.”
The event was convened under the guidance of Dr. Jyoti Chandwani and coordinated by Ms. Pooja Jayawant, Manager – HABIT Incubation & Event Coordinator, with the support of the HABIT Foundation team, institutional representatives, faculty members and student volunteers.
HABIT INNOVATE 2026 brought together students, industry professionals, entrepreneurs and mentors for discussions on idea generation, design thinking, customer validation, prototype development and commercialisation. The sessions highlighted the importance of understanding genuine user needs, testing assumptions, learning through experimentation and building solutions with market relevance.
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