From generating solar energy at night to AI learning tool: Meet the student winners of Gujarat's startup scheme

Indian Express

15 hours ago

Think solar energy and the first thought that comes to the mind is daylight. But Saurabh Rathod, a Class X student of Government Secondary and Higher Secondary School in Ahwa, Dang, has an idea of 'Smart Solar', which is capable of generating energy even during the night.
'Unlike traditional solar panels that only work when exposed to sunlight, our smart solar panel incorporates Peltier modules, which are installed on the backside of the panel. During the day, as the solar panel heats up due to sunlight, the Peltier module captures thermal energy and contributes to power generation. At night, it continues to generate energy by utilising the temperature difference between the warm surface of the panel and the cooler nighttime environment. This innovation ensures continuous energy generation, both during the day and night, making it a more efficient and reliable solution for sustainable power,' he says.
Rathod is among 175 school students from Gujarat to receive a grant of Rs 20,000 from the state government under Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP).
Another recipient of the grant is Chirag Joshi, a Class X student of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Moriya, Banaskantha, who has developed 'Student Super Power' — an AI-powered learning tool that helps students learn in a way that 'suits them best'.
The 15-year-old says he plans to take his project forward in a big way.
'In a school setup, every child cannot get a personalised learning experience. 'Student Super Power' uses smart AI agents to understand how a student learns, identify their weak areas, create a customised study plan, teach in an adaptive way, and provide practice exercises,' he tells The Indian Express. 'This system ensures that each student gets a personalised learning experience, just like a private tutor but at a large scale. Built using AI models, it aims to make education more effective and accessible. The goal is to provide quality learning for every child,' Joshi adds.
The scheme was expanded as SSIP 2.0 in 2022 to include school students from Class VI-XII for their ideas with the aim to create a 'start-up mindset' among children at the grassroots level.
Till June this year, 850 projects of school students – an equal mix of government and private schools — from across the state have been approved under SSIP 2.0. The state government plans to reach 1,000 students by August and 5,000 students by the end of the first semester, by October-November, this year.
Among these 850 shortlisted students, officials stated, the highest number, 175, are from Ahmedabad followed by around 125 from Surat.
'While the SSIP funds and handholds startups, SSIP 2.0 aims to build a start-up community at the school level. We are not expecting school students to create or develop a product but are encouraging them to at least have a viable idea of innovation. There are brainstorming workshops on how to create a startup. Once the ideas are approved, the grant is disbursed for which we inculcate a habit of account-keeping by the students on how much they have spent on what in creating that idea,' Ankit Thakor, the state-government appointed Startup Ecosystem Advisor and School Project Management Unit (PMU) operating under the Education Department, tells The Indian Express.
On how these workshops are conducted, Thakor says, 'As part of an awareness drive, School PMU conducts startup brainstorming workshops across all districts in Gujarat. These workshops bring together students from Classes IX till XII who have already showcased notable innovations at the district, state, or national level, motivating them to assess the potential of their innovations and convert them into startups.'
Under the SSIP 2.0, the School PMU aims to disburse a total grant of ₹33 crore to support over 16,000 student innovators across Gujarat by March 2027.
Thakor says most of these students are actively working on their startup ideas, continuing to develop and refine their projects with consistent efforts towards transforming their innovative concepts into impactful solutions. 'We also help conduct post-workshop sessions for networking with the local startups in their districts,' he adds.
-Dhwanit Mehta, Hillwoods School, Gandhinagar, has an idea to develop an application or website to create a peer group learning environment where like-minded students can study together. It also aims to provide guidance by students as well as expert teachers. Overall, the application or website is aimed to help improve the students' journey towards their final exam such as JEE, NEET, etc.
-Dhruvi Mahla, Government Secondary School Khanpur, Navsari, has come up with the idea of a 'Wireless Charging Car'. As the adoption of electric vehicles continues to rise rapidly, wireless charging technology is emerging as a convenient and time-saving solution, she says. 'By eliminating the need for manual plug-in charging, the idea allows users to simply park their vehicle over a charging pad, thus saving valuable time and enhancing the overall user experience. This innovation is expected to play a significant role in the future of sustainable transportation,' she adds.
-Kashish Thakkar, Aim International School, Ahmedabad, has a project 'Automatic Fire Fighting Robot' for places where sudden fire erupts and fire fighters are not able to reach the spot easily.
-Het Kanjiya, Divine School, Rajkot, has come up with a 'Smart Stick' for the visually impaired that has a combined system of obstacle avoidance and GPS. Smart blind sticks are innovative and effective tools designed to assist visually impaired individuals in navigating their surroundings with greater safety and confidence. By integrating sensors, electronics, and intelligent programming, these devices enable users to detect obstacles and move independently within their environment.