Awards & Opportunities
Rewarding undergraduate ingenuity across Maharashtra with cash grants, exhibition stalls, mentorship, and direct incubation progression at Chetana’s CiEL.
Financial Notice: The proposed ₹5,00,000 prize pool forms an integral part of the total proposed programme planning budget of ₹22,13,000. Public allocations represent proposed planning targets subject to formal institutional confirmation.
ESSENCE 2027 Grand Winner
Conferred on the highest-scoring undergraduate prototype demonstrating exceptional ingenuity, technical execution, and verifiable social or market impact.
- Direct incubation review at Chetana's CiEL
- Dedicated stall in Prime Innovation Row at Grand Finale
- Executive mentorship by veteran startup founders
- Official Trophy and Winner Citations for all team members
First Runner-Up
Awarded to the outstanding team with exemplary engineering, strong validation data, and high scalability potential across Maharashtra.
- Fast-track incubation review access
- Prototype refinement lab vouchers & guidance
- Official Runner-Up Citation & Trophy
Second Runner-Up
Recognising remarkable student creativity and functional execution tackling pressing regional challenges.
- Ecosystem mentorship linkage
- CiEL innovation showcase feature
- Official Commendation Certificate & Plaque
Innovation Track Champions (7 Tracks)
Top-ranked undergraduate innovation in each of the 7 designated competition tracks.
- Track Excellence Certificate & Plaque
- Domain-specific industry mentor pairing
- Dedicated stall at the 100-stall exhibition
Special Jury Awards & Rural Impact Citations
Grants encouraging high-impact grassroots innovations, sustainable materials, and outstanding all-women innovator teams.
- Special Recognition Citations
- Feature in Official ESSENCE 2027 Annual Compendium
Holistic Ecosystem Benefits
50 finalist teams receive allocated physical exhibition stalls on Chetana’s campus to present prototypes directly to industry visitors and venture scouts.
Winners and standout teams enter the formal incubation pipeline with access to prototype testing labs, seed grant advisement, and legal IP support.
All finalists receive verified State Innovation Certificates endorsed by Chetana’s CiEL and participating evaluation dignitaries.