DBATU

Check whether an intake is open

The DFIIE calls on record are past cycles, and a 2025 university notice describes the incubation centre as still being established. Before you spend time on an application, contact the DFIIE office to confirm there is a current intake and what it is looking for.

Match the programme to who you are

DFIIE's intakes are built around people connected to the university: students, individuals with an idea, startups with a proof of concept and research scholars. The student proposal route in particular asks for a valid student proof, so have that ready. Your idea can be either service-based or a product you plan to manufacture.

Prepare the basics the proposal form asks for

The Level 1 startup proposal form asks for your details and a valid proof, the type of startup idea, and the idea and project details, signed and dated by the proposers. Have a clear description of the problem, your idea and your team ready in that shape.

Know what you are applying into

DFIIE describes services such as co-working space, lab and infrastructure access, legal, IP, company-secretarial and accountancy support, networking and funding assistance. Think about which of these your venture actually needs, so you can speak to it in your application and in any conversation with the team.

The DBATU Forum of Innovation, Incubation & Enterprise (DFIIE) is the startup incubation body of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University (DBATU), Lonere, in Raigad district, Maharashtra. It was established in November 2019 as a not-for-profit Section 8 company and sits under the university at its Lonere campus, Tal. Mangaon. Its documents describe it as supported by the Maharashtra State Innovation Society (MSInS), Government of Maharashtra.

DFIIE positions itself as an incubation centre rather than an accelerator. Its published calls describe incubation support, co-working space, lab and infrastructure access, and advisory services for people turning an idea into a venture, with named sector focus areas. It serves students, individuals with an idea, startups with a proof of concept and research scholars connected to the university.

What they support

DFIIE's intake documents are aimed at early-stage founders: students, individuals with an idea, startups with a proof of concept, and research scholars. Its startup proposal form accepts both service-based ideas and product manufacturing ideas. The services it lists for incubated teams include incubation support, co-working space, legal support, IP support, networking, funding assistance, technology validation and commercialization support, infrastructure and lab support, company-secretarial and accountancy services, and intern support.

Programmes

The programmes documented for DFIIE are past intakes rather than open calls, so a founder should check with the centre for the current cycle before applying. The COHORT 1.0 incubation call invited students, individuals with an idea, startups with a proof of concept and research scholars, and listed the full set of incubation services above; its application window closed in August 2023. Separately, a StartUp Call for Proposal 2023 ran a Level 1 proposal form for students of a college or institute to submit a startup idea, either service-based or for manufacturing a product, with a valid student proof attached.

Who runs it and where

DFIIE is a Section 8 subsidiary company of DBATU, Lonere. The university's 2025 recruitment notice for a Chief Executive Officer describes the role as helping to establish the incubation centre, which sits alongside the 2023 intake documents that describe an operating centre; the two sets of documents give different pictures of how established the centre is, and the recruitment notice also states that the centre's grant process was still underway at the time it was published. The centre operates from the DFIIE office at the DBATU university campus, Lonere, Tal. Mangaon, Dist. Raigad, Maharashtra 402103. People looking to apply, mentor or ask about careers can reach it at its office contact.

How to apply

Applications for DFIIE's calls have run through an online form linked from each call, with student proposals submitted on the Level 1 proposal form. Because the documented calls have closed, the practical route in is to contact the DFIIE office to ask about the next intake before preparing an application.