St. Mary's College, Shillong logo
Department of Computer Science
PROTOPITCH 2026
st. mary's college, shillong

Department of Computer Science
St. Mary's College, Shillong Presents

A two-day inter college/university prototype showcase and pitching competition.

PROTOPITCH2026

5th & 6th October

Exhibit a working prototype that you built, pitch it with entrepreneurial conviction and defend it in front of judges. Two days. One idea. Real feedback from industry and academia.

Supported by The Marian Launchpad Under the aegis of PRIME, Government Of Meghalya
The Marian Launchpad logo PRIME Meghalaya logo
Total Prize
Money ₹50K Cash prize
Registration FREE No entry fee
Countdown to lift-off
--Days
--Hours
--Mins
--Secs
Last date of registration
28th September 2026
Registration closes · Limited team slots
Register your team → See the schedule
About the event

Prototype Showcase & Pitching — In One Competition.

ProtoPitch is a two-day platform for student innovators to showcase, and pitch real-world tech solutions. If you are an undergraduate or post graduate student from any college or university in Meghalaya, bring a team (two members) that has a solution to a problem that matters on your campus or in your community, and leave with, real feedback, a shot at the prize pool and even a chance at seed funding and mentorship. It is a test of both technical problem-solving prowess and entrepreneurial acumen — build something that works, then prove why it deserves to exist.

Mission schedule

Two Days, Two Objectives.

28th September 2026
Registration closes · Limited team slots
Day 1 · SHOWCASE
5 October 2026
Prototype Display & Exhibition

Set up your build and showcase it to the judges, invitees, faculty, students of the college and other teams. This is where the prototype has to actually work.

Day 2 · Convince
6 October 2026
Pitching to Judges

Take the stage and make the case — the problem, the prototype, and why it deserves to exist beyond this competition.

Suggested problem domains

Pick a Problem Worth Solving.

The domains and ideas listed below are only suggestions to spark your thinking — not an exhaustive list. Teams are welcome to pitch any problem worth solving, including ones outside the domains, as long as the solution is a working prototype.

Build tools that make everyday campus life smoother — from smart timetable and attendance systems to connected campus infrastructure. Think AI chatbots that answer student queries, IoT-based library seat or lab equipment tracking, computer-vision attendance, or event-discovery platforms. If it saves students time, reduces friction, or makes campus more connected, it belongs here.

Ideas: AI campus helpdesk chatbot · IoT library seat-occupancy sensors · Face-recognition attendance system · Smart canteen pre-ordering with demand prediction · Digital lost & found with image matching

Create solutions that help students and communities stay physically and mentally healthy — from AI-powered symptom checkers and mental-health sentiment tracking to wearable-style IoT monitors for vitals, medicine-adherence dispensers, or telemedicine triage for rural clinics. Focus on privacy, accessibility, and real usability for people who need it most.

Ideas: AI mental-health check-in companion · IoT pill dispenser with reminders · Low-cost pulse-oximeter reader with alerts · ML-based posture/ergonomics corrector · Clinic queue prediction system

Meghalaya and the Northeast run on agriculture — build tech that empowers farmers and rural communities. Think AI crop-disease detection from leaf photos, IoT soil-moisture and microclimate sensors, ML yield or market-price prediction, drone-based field monitoring, or offline-first advisory systems that work where networks are weak.

Ideas: AI crop-disease identifier from photos · IoT soil & weather station for small farms · ML mandi-price forecaster · Smart irrigation controller · Pest-outbreak early-warning system

Tackle waste, water, energy, and conservation challenges with intelligent hardware and software — computer-vision waste sorters, IoT air and water-quality monitors, ML-driven energy dashboards for hostels, or smart bins that signal when they're full. Bonus points for solutions that change behaviour, not just measure it.

Ideas: AI waste-classification camera · IoT smart dustbins with fill-level alerts · Hostel energy monitoring with anomaly detection · River/spring water-quality sensor network · Carbon-footprint estimator for campus events

Design technology that works for everyone — including people with disabilities, elderly users, and those left out by mainstream apps. Think AI sign-language recognition, real-time lecture captioning, computer-vision navigation aids for the visually impaired, voice-first interfaces, or NLP tools for local languages like Khasi and Garo. Inclusion-first design is the whole point here.

Ideas: AI sign-language translator · Real-time lecture captioning with speech-to-text · Smart-cane obstacle detection with computer vision · Voice assistant in Khasi/Garo · Screen-reader-friendly campus navigation

Make Shillong and cities like it more livable — IoT traffic and parking sensors, ML congestion prediction, computer-vision pothole or garbage detection, smart streetlight controllers, or AI-powered civic-issue triage that routes complaints to the right department. Think about how citizens and local government could actually use what you build.

Ideas: Smart parking sensors with live availability map · AI pothole detector from dashcam/phone footage · Traffic-flow prediction for chokepoints · IoT air-quality monitoring network · Civic complaint auto-classification and routing

Reimagine how students learn — AI tutors that adapt to each learner, automated answer-sheet grading, doubt-solving chatbots, ML-based skill-gap analysis, or offline-first learning systems for low-connectivity schools. Solutions that work for under-resourced schools and first-generation learners are especially welcome.

Ideas: AI personal tutor with adaptive quizzes · Automated descriptive-answer grading assistant · Doubt-solving chatbot trained on course material · ML skill-gap analyzer with learning paths · Offline AI learning packs for rural schools

Help local money move smarter and people stay safer — AI expense coaches for students, ML credit-scoring for small vendors, fraud and scam detection for UPI payments, IoT-enabled safety wearables with SOS alerts, or smart digital ledgers for shops and chit funds. Keep trust, simplicity, and low digital literacy in mind.

Ideas: AI spending coach for students · UPI scam/fraud detector · ML micro-credit scoring for street vendors · IoT SOS safety band with live location · Digital khata with voice entry for local shops

Have a problem that doesn't fit any box above? This is your lane. Bring any tech-driven solution to a real problem — AI/ML models, IoT and hardware hacks, robotics, AR/VR experiences, community platforms, creative tech — as long as you can explain who it helps and why it matters. Surprise the judges.

Ideas: Anything with a clear problem, a working prototype — software, hardware, or both — and a convincing pitch

Prizes

Cash on the Table.

2nd Place
₹15,000
1st Place
₹25,000
3rd Place
₹10,000
Rules & code of conduct

Fair Play, the Ground Every Challenge Stands On.

These rules exist to keep ProtoPitch fair, safe, and worth winning. By registering, every participant agrees to them. Read them carefully — they are also the framework the organizing committee will use to resolve any dispute.

  • Participation is open to currently enrolled undergraduate and postgraduate students of any recognized college or university. A valid institutional ID card is mandatory at check-in.
  • Each team consists of exactly 2 members. A maximum of 2 teams per institution will be accepted, on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • A participant must be a member of only one team. Team composition is locked at registration; substitutions are allowed only before the event begins, with written approval from the organizing committee.
  • No TA/DA will be provided to participate in the event.
  • The prototype must be the original work of the registered team members. Plagiarism of code, design, or pitch material — including passing off another team's or organization's product as your own — leads to immediate disqualification.
  • Open-source libraries, frameworks, public APIs, datasets, and AI-assisted tools are allowed, provided their licenses permit such use and they are credited in the project documentation.
  • Teams must be able to explain and defend every part of their prototype during judging. Inability to explain core components is grounds for score reduction or disqualification.
  • The prototype must be functional and demonstrable live on Day 1. Slide decks, mock-ups, or video-only presentations without a working build are not eligible for prizes.
  • Hardware teams must bring their own equipment and components. The organizers will provide standard power outlets and Wi-Fi; any special requirements must be communicated at least 7 days before the event.
  • Projects involving hazardous materials, high-voltage systems, drones, or radio transmission require prior written approval from the organizing committee.
  • Prototypes must comply with applicable law. Projects whose primary purpose is surveillance of individuals, deception, harassment, or circumvention of security systems will not be permitted to exhibit.
  • Evaluation happens in two stages: Day 1 — prototype demonstration (working, technical depth, completeness) and Day 2 — pitch (problem clarity, innovation, feasibility, presentation).
  • Judges will be drawn from industry and academia.
  • Scores are tabulated by the organizing committee. The decision of the judging panel is final and binding. Individual scores and feedback may be shared with teams after results are announced, at the committee's discretion.
  • Participants must treat fellow teams, judges, mentors, volunteers, and venue staff with respect. Harassment, discrimination, intimidation, or abusive behaviour — in person or online — results in immediate removal of the individual or team.
  • Interfering with another team's equipment, code, network, or presentation is strictly prohibited and leads to disqualification.
  • Alcohol, tobacco, and prohibited substances are not permitted anywhere on campus for the duration of the event.
  • Participants must follow the instructions of the organizing committee and venue staff regarding schedules, spaces, and safety. Damage to college property caused by a team is recoverable from that team.
  • Teams retain full ownership of the intellectual property in their prototypes. ProtoPitch and its organizers claim no rights over your idea, code, or design.
  • By participating, teams grant the organizers a non-exclusive right to use the project name, summary, and event photographs/videos for non-commercial promotion and reporting.
  • Teams working on sensitive or patent-pending ideas may request limited photography of their exhibit at check-in; the organizers will make reasonable efforts to honour it.
  • Grounds for disqualification include: plagiarism or misrepresentation of work; violation of eligibility rules; tampering with judging or other teams' work; serious misconduct; or failure to comply with these rules after a written warning.
  • Disqualification decisions are taken by the organizing committee, on the recommendation of the judging panel where relevant, and are communicated to the team in writing with reasons.
  • A disqualified team forfeits any prizes, certificates, and benefits. If a prize has already been awarded, it must be returned and will pass to the next-ranked eligible team.
  • Any complaint — about judging, conduct, eligibility, or these rules — must be submitted in writing to the organizing committee within 2 hours of the incident or announcement concerned. Verbal complaints are noted but not formally acted upon.
  • The committee will acknowledge the complaint, hear the parties involved, and issue a written decision within 24 hours or before prize distribution, whichever is earlier.
  • Complaints about judging are reviewed against the published criteria and score sheets; they do not trigger re-judging unless a procedural error or conflict of interest is established.
  • If a team is dissatisfied with the committee's decision, it may appeal to the Head of the Department of Computer Science, whose decision is final. Frivolous or bad-faith complaints may themselves attract disciplinary action.
  • The organizing committee may amend these rules to handle unforeseen circumstances. Any amendment will be announced to all teams and posted at the venue before it takes effect.
  • The organizers are not liable for loss or damage to personal equipment; teams are responsible for their own belongings at the venue.
  • Any matter not covered by these rules will be decided by the organizing committee in keeping with the spirit of fair competition.
2
Teams per institution
2
Members per team
2
Days on campus
₹50K
Total prize pool
Sign up now

Bring Your Team to St. Mary's College.

Registration is free and limited to a maximum of two teams per institution on first come first serve basis. Scan the code or use the online form to lock in your spot.

Venue St. Mary's College, Shillong, Meghalaya
Dates 5 – 6 October 2026
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NoticeLast date of registration: 28th September 2026