FIST IIT Patna

Choosing the right programme

FIST runs two very different things, so start by matching yourself to the right one. The incubation programme is for technology-based founders and early-stage startups in fields such as agriculture, energy, manufacturing and water. The internship is for engineering students, not for startup founders, and places interns with the incubator's startup teams.

How applications work

• For incubation, the research found an incubation call that routes to FIST's contact page rather than an open online form, so expect to reach the team directly to ask about the current intake.
• The internship is advertised once a year and opens only for a short window with a stated closing date; its most recent rounds have already closed, so watch for the next round.

Who can apply

• Incubation is open to technology entrepreneurs and startups and is not restricted to IIT Patna students.
• The internship is open to undergraduate engineering students in their second or third year of a B.Tech, across a range of engineering disciplines, with a minimum of 60% marks, and requires a no-objection certificate from the head of their institution.

FIST, the Foundation for Innovators in Science and Technology, is a technology business incubator set up on the Indian Institute of Technology Patna campus at Bihta, Patna, Bihar. It was developed under the NIDHI-TBI initiative of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India, and is registered as a Section 8 company under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

What they support

FIST backs technology-based entrepreneurs and early-stage startups building products and services in areas such as agriculture, energy, manufacturing, water harvesting and other engineering fields. Incubatees do not have to be IIT Patna students. The incubator gives selected startups office space, laboratory support and access to product-development facilities so they can move from an idea towards a commercial launch.

Programmes

FIST runs an incubation programme for selected startups, built around co-working space, mentoring and access to the incubator's labs. It also offers a short internship for engineering students, who work alongside incubated startup teams and receive a certificate on completion. The internship runs as a yearly call that opens for a limited window, so it is usually between intakes; its last published rounds have closed.

Facilities and support

The incubator provides furnished office and co-working space with communication facilities, computers and internet, alongside laboratory and product-development support for its startups.

Track record

On its own homepage FIST reports 35 startups supported, 16 products developed and 15 patents filed. These are the incubator's self-reported figures. Named startups incubated at FIST include MAAS Innovators, MagTapp and Portable Power Technology.

How to apply

FIST's site carries an incubation call that points to its contact page; the research did not find a self-contained open application form or a current deadline for the incubation programme. The internship is advertised in a yearly round with its own closing date. The incubator can be reached at its office in Block-9, IIT Patna, Bihta.

Note: FIST's live site was unreachable during this research, so its own-site facts were read from archived snapshots and from its internship advertisements. The description is shorter than usual because that is all the available sources support.