Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College

Who it is for

• Students at GNDEC with a technology idea for a local problem
• It is not stated whether outside founders can apply

How to get in

• Email the NAIN Regional Coordinator Desk at nain@gndecb.ac.in
• Desk hours are 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday to Saturday
• No online application form is linked for NAIN; the enquiry route is the email above

How selection works

• Selected student ideas receive grant support for prototyping
• Selection criteria and timing are not stated

Before you apply

• Bring a clear problem statement and a prototype plan; the centre is built around frugal, technology-based prototypes
• Ask about current intake and whether the centre takes non-students

Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College (GNDEC) in Bidar, Karnataka runs an incubation centre on its campus called the New Age Innovation Network (NAIN). The centre is the college's route for students who want to turn an idea into a working prototype and, in time, a startup.

How the programme works

NAIN is a skill development programme launched under the Karnataka startup policy of 2015. It is built around the K-tech Innovation Hubs that the Government of Karnataka funds. Students are encouraged to identify local problems, apply frugal innovation, and build technology-based solutions and working prototypes. Mentors help them shape a business model around the technology and think through the steps of a startup.

Who can apply

The centre is aimed at students studying at GNDEC across different disciplines. The college describes the audience as graduate students. It does not say whether people outside the college can join.

Support on offer

Selected student startup ideas receive grant support for prototype building, component sourcing, software licences and field testing. Students also get guidance from industry mentors and use of the campus fabrication lab and high-speed compute clusters. The college says it helps students file intellectual property and patents.

Campus innovation bodies

The college's Institution Innovation Council, set up in 2020-21 under the Ministry of Education, also promotes student ideas, hackathons, patent filings and startup incubation on campus. No separate application route is listed for it.

Startups that came out of the campus

The college names two companies linked to its incubation ecosystem: Agritec Solution LLP, an agri-technology startup that builds automated machinery for farmers, and Edureq Skill Development LLP, a skill-building company registered in 2022 under the NAIN centre.

Scale

The centre reports 15 or more incubated projects, with no date given for that count. Its description of the Karnataka scheme is not consistent: it says K-tech hubs are set up in all districts, and it also says there are 30 hubs across 18 districts.

Who runs it

GNDEC is an autonomous institution affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi, and approved by AICTE. It is an institution under the Guru Nanak Group of Institutions and was established in 1980. The NAIN centre has a college coordinator and an incubation centre manager, both named on the page.

Location

The college is on Mailoor Road, Bidar 585403, Karnataka.