National Techno-Managerial Ideathon & Leadership Conference
IIM Visakhapatnam and BPCL Join Hands for National Techno-Managerial Ideathon on India’s Energy Future
Visakhapatnam: Indian Institute of Management Visakhapatnam (IIMV) with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is organising the BPCL-IIM Visakhapatnam National Techno-Managerial Ideathon & Leadership Conference 2026-27, themed “Atmanirbhar Urja: Forging India’s Sovereign Energy Future.”
The initiative is being organised as part of IIM Visakhapatnam’s Post Graduate Programme in Management for Centrally Funded Technical Institutions, Institutions of National Importance (PGPMCI), an initiative aimed at bringing management education and managerial perspectives to students from premier technical institutions across the country.
The national-level initiative aims to identify and nurture future techno-managerial leaders for India’s energy sector. Open to students from IITs, NITs, IIITs and other CFTIs and Institutions of National Importance (INIs), the initiative envisages outreach across more than 120 premier engineering institutions.Designed at the intersection of technology, management and India’s energy transition, the Ideathon will invite participants to develop innovative, scalable and commercially viable solutions across three key themes.
The first, “Hard-to-Abate Decarbonization: Solving India’s Industrial Emissions,” will focus on reducing emissions from sectors such as steel, cement, fertilizers and refining through areas including green hydrogen, carbon capture and utilization, low-carbon fuels and circular energy systems.
The second, “Energy Storage & Grid Resilience: Powering India 24/7,” will explore solutions for scalable energy storage, grid stability and reliable renewable power, including alternative battery technologies, utility-scale storage, Vehicle-to-Grid models, AI/ML-based renewable energy forecasting and decentralized microgrids.
The third, “Critical Minerals & Circular Economy: Securing India’s Raw Material Future,” will focus on sourcing, recycling and supply-chain resilience for critical energy-transition materials, covering areas such as urban mining, battery recycling, alternative materials and circular-economy solutions.
The competition will progress through three phases. National outreach and registration will run through August-September 2026, with a target of 500+ teams and 1,000+ students. Evaluation and shortlisting will take place during October-November 2026, with the top 90 teams advancing to detailed pitch deck and video submissions and a mentorship webinar with IIMV faculty and BPCL leaders. From these, 30 finalist teams comprising 60 students are planned to participate in the Grand Finale at IIM Visakhapatnam on 23 January 2027, featuring keynote sessions, mentoring and presentations before an industry jury.
Submissions will be evaluated on innovation and originality, impact and scalability, technical feasibility, business viability, and presentation and clarity. The competition carries a total prize pool of ₹1.80 lakh, including ₹75,000 for the Overall Grand Winner, ₹25,000 each for three Theme Winners and ₹10,000 each for three Theme Runners-Up.
Through the initiative, IIM Visakhapatnam and BPCL seek to strengthen academia-industry collaboration and provide young engineering talent with a platform to develop solutions to critical technological and managerial challenges shaping India’s energy future.
Registration Link: https://www.iimv.ac.in/ntmil-ideathon/
