Delhi : UPES, through its Runway Incubator, hosted the second edition of the Future Founders Challenge 2026, a prestigious national-level entrepreneurship competition, bringing together some of India’s promising young innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs. Held from November 1–3, the competition aimed to inspire and empower students from Classes 9 to 12 to develop entrepreneurial thinking and transform innovative ideas into viable business ventures.
This year, FFC witnessed an overwhelming participation of more than 1,500 students from over 150 schools spread across 23 states and 100 plus cities. More than 750 ideas were shared by over 500 teams, of which 30 shortlisted teams of young innovators, selected after a competitive process, congregated at UPES Dehradun campus for a three-day national entrepreneurship challenge. The event gave them the opportunity to turn their ideas into ventures and pitch them before a jury of founders and industry leaders.
The competition recognised innovative ideas and entrepreneurial potential through a prize pool of approximately ₹5 lakh, with the winning team students from Raipur’s N. H. Goel World School taking home a cash prize of ₹1.5 lakh. The first runners-up, from Ludhiana’s BCM Arya Model Sr. Sec. School won ₹1 lakh, while the second runners-up from Lucknow’s City Montessori School were awarded ₹50,000. Seven additional teams received merit awards of ₹25,000 each.
The top three startups also secured a spot in Takeoff 6.0, Runway Incubator’s marquee pre-incubation programme for early-stage startups, extending the journey beyond the competition and giving the young founders a pathway to further develop their ideas. Also, the top 10 finalists were recognised through eight non-financial categories, including Best CEO, Best COO, Best CFO, Best CMO, Best Presentation, Best Prototype, Best Technology Idea and Best Sustainability Idea.
The event featured interactive workshops, entrepreneurial storytelling sessions and competitive pitching rounds. The jury of the preliminary round for FFC 2026 included a seven-member jury of founders and operators across sectors, featuring Abhijeet Rathod of Agrijoy, Richa Bansal of Saarathee, Shraddha Negi of Juicyverse, Udit Handa of Cynoteck, Shikha Prakash of Padaav, Prayas Mittal of Swift and Saurabh Saxena of JaagrMind.
The top 10 teams advanced to the final round, where they presented their ideas before a jury comprising Kshitij Doval, UNHU; Saurav Sinha, Founder, Homversity; and Shivali Sugand, Green Grahi. The programme also featured an inaugural address by Manish Madaan, Pro-Vice Chancellor & Registrar, UPES, a storytelling workshop led by Rahul Nainwal, Runway Incubator, and a keynote address by Saurav Sinha.
Building on its inaugural edition in 2025, the competition provided a platform for nearly 100 students to engage with practising entrepreneurs, industry mentors and investors, gaining first-hand exposure to the process of building and pitching a startup. It aims to introduce school students to entrepreneurship by encouraging them to identify real-world problems, develop innovative solutions and translate their ideas into potential business ventures.
Dr. Sunil Rai, Vice Chancellor, UPES said, “Entrepreneurship begins with confidence in tackling a problem differently and having a conviction to come up with a strong solution. The Future Founders Challenge reflects UPES’s belief that this mind-set can and should be nurtured early. By bringing together some of India’s most promising young innovators, the school students get an opportunity to move beyond classrooms, think, brainstorm and test their ideas in a real-world setting, learn from experienced entrepreneurs, and experience what it takes to turn an idea into action.”
Prof. Rahul Nainwal, Chief Executive Officer, Runway Incubator, and Senior Director & Head, School of Business, UPES said, “The second edition of Future Founders Challenge has witnessed a remarkable growth, highlighting the growing entrepreneurial ambition among school students. What makes this platform stand out is that it takes students through the entire entrepreneurial journey, starting from identifying a problem and shaping an idea to build a proposition, pitching it to a jury, receiving feedback from those minds who have built businesses themselves. The FFC 2026 is not just a competition; it is a platform for young innovators to discover their entrepreneurial potential, build confidence and take their first meaningful step towards creating solutions that can make a difference.”
The Future Founders Challenge gives young innovators a platform to engage with mentors and industry experts, participate in hands-on workshops, and strengthen their entrepreneurial capabilities. The initiative reflects UPES’s vision of becoming a ‘University of Tomorrow’ and its commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship as a ‘Start-up University’. It also supports national priorities aimed at nurturing innovation and entrepreneurial talent, including Startup India, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and the Atal Innovation Mission.
Through the Future Founders Challenge, UPES and Runway Incubator aim to create a bridge between school-level innovation and the wider start-up ecosystem, enabling young minds to move from identifying problems to building solutions – and potentially, the ventures of tomorrow.
****