New Delhi, Aprail 24: At Neovation 2025, Cisco, in collaboration with the Nasscom Foundation, honored ten standout student-led start-ups from the 7th cohort of its flagship CSR initiative, thingQbator. Selected from a pool of over 1,367 submissions, these winning teams transformed bold ideas into functional prototypes and scalable ventures—earning recognition and seed funding of INR 5 lakh each.
The 7th edition of thingQbator saw enthusiastic participation from 3,734 students across India, with a special focus on empowering youth from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. The initiative is designed to provide mentorship, resources, and a platform for students to convert innovative ideas into real-world solutions targeting critical sectors like healthcare, waste management, transportation, household IoT, and public infrastructure.
All submitted ideas advanced to the ideation stage, demonstrating the creative potential present across college campuses. From these, 125 teams comprising 343 students progressed to the prototyping phase, supported by 1,233 hours of expert mentorship. The results: a range of impactful, tech-driven innovations addressing pressing societal challenges.
Harish Krishnan, Managing Director and Chief Policy Officer, Cisco India and SAARC, highlighted Cisco’s vision: “The future of social innovation in India is incredibly bright. At Cisco, our goal of enabling an inclusive future aligns with this vision. Through initiatives like thingQbator, we’re proud to help students turn their ideas into scalable solutions that can truly make a difference.”
Jyoti Sharma, CEO of Nasscom Foundation, added: “We are witnessing an inspiring wave of youth-led innovation. With the right support and direction, students are not just dreaming big—they’re building real solutions for a better, more inclusive future.”
Since its launch in 2018, thingQbator has trained over 10,262 students, cultivating a mindset of innovation and entrepreneurship. With more than 5,351 hours of mentorship provided, the program has led to the creation of 409 working prototypes. Impressively, 63 of these student-led ventures have already been registered or incubated in start-up accelerators.
At its core, thingQbator fosters design thinking, community-oriented innovation, and entrepreneurial skills—empowering students to become tomorrow’s problem solvers and changemakers.
