Technology Innovation Foundation of IIT Palakkad (TECHIN)

Pick the right door

• A general incubation enquiry: use the Incubate with us form and attach a pitch deck.
• Water, sanitation or hygiene technology: watch for the next Samastha cohort.
• Medical technology: watch for the next Arogyam cohort, or the i-MEC call if your work is clinically driven electronics or cyber-physical systems.
• Food technology: watch for the next Samriddhi edition.
• Women founders in Kerala: Samavesh is for aspiring women entrepreneurs who live in Kerala.
• Students: Aarambh takes nominations from institutes, so your head of institute has to recommend you.

How applications work

• Each cohort has its own page, form and last date. The dated calls on the site had closed by October 2026, so ask before you plan around one.
• The Incubate with us form asks for your background, your technology and planned offering, a business description, the support you want and why you want to work with TECHIN. It has a pitch deck upload.
• The form says that submitting it does not include any funding or grant support.
• Questions on programmes go to programs@techin-iitpkd.org.

What the cohorts look for

• Technology readiness: Samastha, Arogyam, Samriddhi and Samavesh startups are described at technology readiness level 4 and above, so have a working prototype or validated technology.
• A clear problem in its vertical: Samriddhi 2.0 listed thematic areas such as food waste, packaging and preservation, and food safety. Match your pitch to the vertical.
• Eligibility as written: Samavesh 2.1 required applicants to be 18 or older and live in Kerala, and excluded people who had attended Samavesh 2.0. Aarambh capped nominations per institute.

Before you apply

• Check the programme page for travel and accommodation rules. Samavesh and Aarambh left these to participants.
• Expect limited seats and a committee decision that is final.
• Attendance is mandatory for the participation certificates in Samavesh and Aarambh.

Technology Innovation Foundation of IIT Palakkad, known as TECHIN, is the Technology Business Incubator of IIT Palakkad. It is a Section 8 not-for-profit company based at the IIT Palakkad Nila Campus in Kanjikode, Palakkad, Kerala. It backs technology startups and innovators, mostly through themed cohorts in sanitation, medical technology and food technology.

How TECHIN works with startups

TECHIN supports innovations at different points of the journey: pre-incubation, incubation or acceleration, depending on how far the venture has come. Selected startups can get funding support, technical and business mentoring, infrastructure and networking. Through the year it also runs pitch events, workshops and hackathons.

Its stated support list covers incubation and acceleration, R&D, labs and testing support, investor connects, go-to-market help, field trials and evaluation support, office space and infrastructure, market research, marketing, IP and legal support, training, and commercialisation and technology transfer.

Technology verticals

TECHIN organises its work into five verticals: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; Emerging Technology (TIC); Medical Technology; Food Technology; and Agriculture Technology. Most of its named cohorts sit under one of these verticals and are aimed at technologies at technology readiness level 4 and above.

Programmes

The Samastha series is the cohort for water, sanitation and hygiene startups, and has run from Samastha 1.0 to Samastha 6.0. Arogyam is the medical technology cohort, with three editions so far. Samriddhi is the food technology cohort, run with Symega Food Ingredients Ltd. for its 2.0 edition, with hybrid online and offline incubation, mentorship and grant support for selected innovations.

Samavesh is a women entrepreneurship development programme. The 2.1 edition was a four-day offline programme at the TECHIN office in Kanjikode for aspiring women entrepreneurs who live in Kerala, with no course fee. Aarambh is a student entrepreneurship programme for pre-final and final year engineering, technology and MBA students, nominated by their institute and run with Jayon Implants Pvt. Ltd. as CSR partner.

i-MEC is a national technology development call on clinically driven cyber-physical systems and medical electronics, run by IIT Palakkad Technology IHub Foundation (IPTIF) with TECHIN. It is open to researchers, doctors, faculty and startups. TECHINspire is an online learning series for startups and innovators. SAMAGRA is the annual startup conclave and innovation summit; the 2026 edition is planned for 29 and 30 October 2026 in Thiruvananthapuram.

The calls with dates on the site, including Samriddhi 2.0, Samavesh 2.1, Aarambh and i-MEC, had closed by October 2026. Check each programme page for the next edition.

Track record

On its own home page TECHIN reports more than 45 startups incubated, more than 300 individuals trained, more than 400 jobs created, more than 50 programmes and cohorts completed, more than 500 innovations evaluated, and more than 50 patents and IPR filings by startups. These are its own figures, not audited totals.

Who can apply

The general route is the Incubate with us form, open to innovators and startups. It asks for your background, the technology and planned offering, a business description, the support you want from TECHIN and a pitch deck. The form states that submitting it does not include any funding or grant support. Programme calls such as Samriddhi and i-MEC have their own forms, dates and eligibility.

Careers and contact

TECHIN lists job openings on a careers page; recent roles have included a programme coordinator and a training officer. You can reach the team at the programmes inbox or the office inbox, or by phone. The registered address is No. 31, Kanjikode West, IIT Palakkad, Nila Campus, Palakkad, Kerala 678623, and a communication office is in the V Square Commercial Complex in Kanjikode.