BUILD 2026 (with Boeing India)
A programme by FSID, IISc (Foundation for Science Innovation and Development)
A free boot camp and pitch competition with Boeing India for 2026 graduates and pre-seed founders, run across seven partner incubators.
At a glance
| Best for | Students graduating or graduated in 2026, and pre-seed founders with no external funding |
|---|---|
| Stage | Idea |
| Duration | A three to four day regional boot camp, plus one to two days in Bengaluru for selected teams |
| Format | In person |
| Cost | Free |
| Grant support | For selected startups. A place in the programme does not by itself guarantee a grant. |
| Run with | Boeing India, SINE IIT Bombay, FITT IIT Delhi, IIT Gandhinagar Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre, IIT Madras Incubation Cell, T-Hub Hyderabad, KIIT-TBI Bhubaneswar |
About BUILD 2026 (with Boeing India)
BUILD is Boeing's University Innovation Leadership Development programme. Boeing India partners with FSID and six other incubators to give students and very early founders industry knowledge, structured learning and mentorship to sharpen ideas, business models and pitches. Themes cover aerospace and defence, technology startups, social impact and sustainability, though teams whose idea does not fit a theme are still encouraged to apply.
What you get
- A regional boot camp of three to four days, ending in a pitch to a jury
- Guidance from startup ecosystem experts, incubator partners and Boeing engineers
- Limited travel support for teams selected for the workshop
- For selected teams, one to two days in Bengaluru for Boeing Innovation Day at the Boeing campus
- Grant support for high-performing teams, though no funding and no fixed number of winners is guaranteed
Who can apply
- Students graduating or who have graduated in 2026
- Early entrepreneurs at pre-seed idea or conceptualization stage with no external funding
- One application per team; submitting more than one is discouraged
How selection works: the two questions are what problem you are solving and how, and why they should work with your team. Applications should respect the word limit, avoid marketing language and explain the motivation behind the problem. Approach matters more than novelty — several teams tackling similar problems can all be taken. Shortlisted teams go to the regional boot camp, then a jury pitch.
How to apply: through the online application form linked on the programme page. Applying is free and there are no coursework fees. Queries to stem.cell@fsid-iisc.in with the subject line naming Boeing BUILD 2026; the programme says phone calls are not entertained.
Where to apply
Other FSID programmes
- STEM Cell — STEM Innovation EntrepreneurshipFSID's deep science incubator on the IISc campus, open to founders with no IISc affiliation and accepting applications all year.
- Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR)A structured track for validating a startup idea and producing a full incubation proposal, without having to set up a company first.
- Faculty Entrepreneurship ProgramA route for IISc faculty to take their own expertise to market, under IISc's own policies.
- NIDHI Seed Support ProgramA Department of Science & Technology scheme FSID runs for startups it already incubates, bridging prototype to commercialization.
- MeitY TIDE 2.0A MeitY scheme FSID operates, with a one-year entrepreneur-in-residence track and a one-year incubation track for startups.
- Defence and iDEX support (DISC and ADITI)Support for startups running iDEX DISC and ADITI defence challenges, with veteran reviewers and an on-site Army Design Bureau cell.
- TIME2 — new product development for established industryFSID's division for existing MSMEs and companies that want IP-based products or an in-house innovation capability, not a startup programme.
- Centre of Data for Public Good (CDPG)An ongoing Strategic Programs initiative applying data and technology to public problems, behind IUDX, ADeX and GDI.
- Gallium Nitride Ecosystem Enabling Centre and Incubator (GEECI)A small-volume semiconductor wafer and device production, characterization and packaging facility at CeNSE, IISc.
- India Open Source for Mobile Communication Network (IOSMCN)An ongoing Strategic Programs initiative building an open-source software platform for 5G and beyond.
- Quantum Research Park (QuRP)A quantum computing hub bootstrapped by FSID with support from KITS, Government of Karnataka, under IISc's Quantum Technology Initiative.