More than 180 students from six ASM institutes took part in the Kalam Stream Challenge 2026, and they came home with prizes in every category they entered. From Class VIII school students to postgraduate researchers, ASM's young innovators won first, second and third prizes, including a clean sweep of the Undergraduate category.
The national-level student innovation and model competition was organised by ASM Group of Institutes on Sunday, 11 October 2026, at ASM's CSIT, Pimpri, Pune. It commemorated the 95th birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the scientist and former President of India who believed every young mind could ignite change.
For ASM Group of Institutes, this was a big milestone and a truly proud moment. It showed what happens when students across schools, junior colleges, engineering, pharmacy and management programmes are given a stage to turn ideas into real solutions.
About the Kalam Stream Challenge 2026
The Kalam Stream Challenge is a national-level platform where students present research, working models and innovative ideas across science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. Participants came from educational institutions across India.
Inspired by Dr. Kalam's call to dream, think and act, the challenge pushes students beyond textbooks. They identify a real problem, build a solution and defend it before expert judges.
ASM Institutes That Participated
Six ASM institutes sent more than 180 students to the challenge, with ASM's CSIT, Pimpri, hosting the event.
| ASM Institute | Students participated |
|---|---|
| ASM's NextGen Technical Campus, Talegaon Dabhade | 121 |
| ASM's CSIT Junior College, Purnanagar | 30 |
| ASM's IIBR and ASM's IBMR (PGDM) | 12 |
| ASM's Empros International School, Chinchwad | 12 |
| ASM's IPS | 6 |
| Total | 181 |
ASM's Winners at Kalam Stream Challenge 2026
ASM students won eight prizes and one appreciation award across the Undergraduate, Postgraduate, junior college and school levels.
| Category | Prize | Winner(s) | ASM Institute | Project |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate | First | Ruchita Tawade, Shreyasi Kumbhar, Samruddhi Bandal, Gargi Gangurde, Gauri Nevase | NextGen Technical Campus | Nirbhaya Alert |
| Undergraduate | Second | Om Subhash Dangare, Siddhesh Ganesh Shevkar, Ravi Pramod Shinde | NextGen Technical Campus | Farmer Assist AI |
| Undergraduate | Third | Dnyaneshwari Bibhishan Dawane, Ayushi Ajit Dhepe, Amrutaa Manoj Bhavsar, Vidita Hemant Bharambe, Ishita Sachin Kale | NextGen Technical Campus | SmartCampus |
| Postgraduate | First | Sharvari Narayan Patil, Sayali Janaba Patil | IPS | 2,4-Thiazolidinedione Derivatives for Anticancer Drug Development |
| Postgraduate | Second | Aftab Gadkari | ASM Group | Microwave Assisted Drug Synthesis |
| Junior College | First | Siddhi Patil | CSIT Junior College, Purnanagar | The Last Drop |
| Junior College | Appreciation | Ayush Kale | CSIT Junior College, Purnanagar | AI Assistant |
| School: Individual Research Presentation | Third | Prathamesh Sachin Kalekar (Class VIII) | Empros International School | The Enhanced Armed Exoskeleton |
| School: Team Presentation with Model | Third | Santosh Sandeep Mahale, Anay Shaniware (Class IX) | Empros International School | EVA – Elderly Versatile Assistance |
NextGen Sweeps the Undergraduate Category
ASM's NextGen Technical Campus won all three Undergraduate prizes, the headline achievement of the day.
- Nirbhaya Alert (First Prize, ₹5,000): An AI- and IoT-based women's safety system that reads camera visuals, audio and silent distress gestures, then triggers a local alarm and sends location alerts to responders.
- Farmer Assist AI (Second Prize, ₹3,000): A multilingual farming assistant in English, Marathi and Hindi that detects crop disease from photos and gives soil, fertiliser and crop-stage guidance.
- SmartCampus (Third Prize, ₹2,000): An AI-enabled career counselling platform that connects students, parents and professional counsellors.
Each team also received a STEM Robotics kit sponsored by STEM-Xpert. Best of all, all three teams and their mentors will visit ISRO, Sriharikota, for first-hand exposure to India's space research ecosystem.
IPS Wins First Prize in the Postgraduate Category
ASM's IPS students Sharvari Narayan Patil and Sayali Janaba Patil won first prize for their research on 2,4-thiazolidinedione derivatives for anticancer drug development. Their work covers synthesis, characterisation, evaluation, pre-formulation studies and a preliminary commercial assessment of the compounds.
The team won a prize package worth ₹30,500: a STEM Facilitator Part 1 Kit (₹4,000), a live course (₹24,000) and STEM Facilitator Academy access (₹2,500). Aftab Gadkari added a Postgraduate second prize for his work on microwave-assisted drug synthesis.
CSIT Junior College, Purnanagar Takes First Prize
Siddhi Patil won first prize and ₹3,000 for her presentation The Last Drop, a powerful message on conserving every drop of a precious resource. Ayush Kale earned an Appreciation award for his AI Assistant project.
Empros International School Wins Two Third Prizes
Class VIII student Prathamesh Sachin Kalekar won third prize in the Individual Research Presentation category for The Enhanced Armed Exoskeleton, an engineering concept. Class IX students Santosh Sandeep Mahale and Anay Shaniware won third prize in Team Presentation with Model for EVA – Elderly Versatile Assistance, a robotics and AI assistant for elderly people.
More Ideas from ASM Students
Beyond the prize winners, ASM students presented ideas that tackled problems from hospital queues to floods.
PGDM students from ASM's IIBR and ASM's IBMR brought three business concepts:
- Jewels Aurelia: A 5-in-1 modular, reversible jewellery piece with the tagline "Why buy five when one can become five?"
- CareQ AI: A hospital queue platform for finding hospitals, checking bed availability, booking OPD tokens and tracking waiting times.
- LoopPack: Reusable delivery totes returned by QR scan through delivery agents or kirana stores, with UPI cashback as a reward.
Empros International School students also presented a Flood Management System, an AI-driven Eco Smart City and The Ocean Genetic Light Switch, a marine photobiology project.
Distinguished Dignitaries
Leaders from science, research, education and public administration graced the event.
Chief Guests
- Dr. Arvind A. Natu: Chairman, Board of Governors, IISER Kolkata and MANIT, Bhopal; German Research Ambassador.
- Shri A. K. Sinha: Former Senior Scientist, ISRO; Former Director (R&D), Bharati Vidyapeeth University College of Engineering, Pune.
Guests of Honour
- Dr. Heera Lal, IAS: Secretary, National Integration Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh.
- Prof. Ananya Mukherjee: Vice-Chancellor, Shiv Nadar University, Delhi-NCR.
- Dr. Sandeep Pachpande: Chairman, ASM Group of Institutes, Pune.
- Dr. Dilip Deshmukh: Head of the Science Department, Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune.
- Er. D. Gokul: Senior Scientist and Project Manager, SSLV, ISRO.
- Mr. Daram Muralidhara Reddy: Dean and Research Coordinator, Ashoka Women's Engineering College, Kurnool.
- Mr. Rishiraj Singh Parihar: Director, SBITM, Betul, Madhya Pradesh.
- Mr. Fasalu Rahman: Founder and CEO, STEM-Xpert.
- Shri APJ M. Sheikh Dawood: Grand-nephew of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Vice-President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation.
A Proud Moment for ASM Group of Institutes
The Kalam Stream Challenge 2026 will be remembered as a landmark day for ASM Group of Institutes. More than 180 students, six institutes, eight prizes and a trip to ISRO Sriharikota tell the story of a family of institutions where ideas are encouraged at every age.
The winning ideas spoke to real needs: women's safety, farmers' livelihoods, career choices, cancer research, water conservation and care for the elderly. That is exactly the spirit Dr. Kalam stood for.
ASM Group of Institutes congratulates every winner and every participant, and thanks the mentors, faculty, management, dignitaries and sponsor STEM-Xpert who made the day possible. The journey from here, to Sriharikota and beyond, has only just begun.
Dream. Innovate. Inspire. Transform.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was the Kalam Stream Challenge 2026 held? On Sunday, 11 October 2026, at ASM's CSIT, Pimpri, Pune. It was organised by ASM Group of Institutes to mark Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's 95th birth anniversary.
How many ASM students participated? More than 180 students from six ASM institutes took part.
Which ASM institute won the most prizes? ASM's NextGen Technical Campus won all three Undergraduate prizes: first, second and third.
What did the Undergraduate winners receive? Cash prizes of ₹5,000, ₹3,000 and ₹2,000, STEM Robotics kits from STEM-Xpert, and a visit to ISRO, Sriharikota, with their mentors.
What did the Postgraduate first-prize winners receive? ASM's IPS team received a prize package worth ₹30,500, including a STEM kit, a live course and STEM Facilitator Academy access.
