PALS Annual Innovation Competition

BOLTS & BOTS

Engineering in the AI Era

PALS premier flagship event empowering students to integrate Artificial Intelligence ("Bots") across all core engineering disciplines ("Bolts").

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Bolts & Bots Logo
2014
Inception Year
100%
Multidisciplinary
6
States & UT Covered
5 x 5
5 Teams/PI & 5 Members/Team

What is innoWAH!

innoWAH! is a year-long flagship innovation competition conducted by PALS, designed to enable young minds to develop creativity, business domain knowledge, communication, and presentation skills.

The competition bridges classroom theory with practical engineering industry practices, including the rigors of documentation and compliance. It offers interested student teams deep mentoring and pre-incubation opportunities at IIT Madras' Nirmaan cell.

Learn Our Objectives

2026-27 Theme Focus

"Engineering Solutions with Bolts & Bots" emphasizes leveraging AI to supercharge and modernize all core engineering disciplines—moving far beyond the normal.

Core Engineering

Heavy emphasis on multidisciplinary projects in Mechanical, Civil, Electrical, Chemical etc...

AI Integration

Driving business value addition by embedding smart AI, cloud, machine learning, IoT technologies etc into core projects.

Social Impact

Targeting real-time problems that directly impact the lives of common people and improve the national economy.

Real Value First

Explicitly avoiding mundane "run-of-the-mill" ideas and generic app aggregators flooded in the marketplace.

Competition Timeline

Track key milestones from registration extensions to the final exhibition at the IITM campus.
innoWAH! Operational Timeline Map

Minimum Qualifying Criteria

Original Value Addition

Originality of the idea or a clear, justifiable engineering improvement on an existing concept.

Attendance in Prep Webinar Sessions

Mandatory attendance in all the webinars conducted for the students.

Documentation and Compliance

Timely and correct submission of all required C&D Documents, Declarations, and Pitch videos.

Strict Academic Integrity

Projects failing expert plagiarism audits or failing technical feasibility reviews are rejected immediately.

Basic evaluation parameters for PYP

Jury panels use 5 core parameters to grade PYP submissions.

1. Due Diligence done 💯
2. Technical feasibility ✔️
3. Innovation & USP 💡
4. Financial viability 💲
5. Competition Analysis 👪

Essential Resources

Webinar Sample topics

Customer Discovery

Guest Speaker 1 (TBD)
  • Jobs to be Done Framework
  • Value Proposition Canvas
  • Customer Development
Watch Lecture

Design Thinking

Guest Speaker 2 (TBD)
  • Empathy towards Customer
  • Human centric design
  • Industry best practices
Watch Lecture

Guidelines & Forms

PALS innoWAH! Team
  • Concept & Design (C&D) Doc
  • Official Declaration Form
  • Cluster Finals Criteria
Get Downloads

Frequently Asked Questions

Official rules, guidelines, eligibility criteria, and intellectual property queries.
What is the basic idea behind the "BOLTS & BOTS" Theme?
The theme is "BOLTS & BOTS - Engineering in the AI Era". The objective is to promote engineering in all traditional disciplines (Mechanical, Civil, Chemical, Electrical) by leveraging AI and emerging IT tools, rather than focusing purely on the IT/software industry itself.
Are only fresh ideas appreciated, or older ones which have won elsewhere OK too?
We evaluate based on the value and merits of the idea according to the specific criteria of this competition. If a previous contest proposal matches our current theme, you can submit it. However, you must avoid force-fitting and ensure all copyright/IP rules are followed.
Should the proposed project focus only on industrial commercial aspects?
The project must focus on solving the identified problem within our annual theme. The final solution must be viable, implementable, and hold the potential to scale up commercially or address public/social needs.
Do we need to build a hardware project?
No. It is not mandatory that the project should only be hardware. It can be software, hardware, or a mixed prototype, provided it systematically solves the identified problem using a multi-disciplinary framework.
What is the eligibility and nomination quota per institute?
Each PALS Partner Institute (PI) can internally select and nominate up to 5 registered teams. Each team must consist of a maximum of 5 bonafide undergraduate engineering students and must be assigned a dedicated Faculty Mentor.
Can we substitute team members after registration?
No substitution of team members is allowed after the team is registered. If a team member withdraws, that position in the team will remain vacant.
What security do we have against commercial plagiarism of our ideas?
PALS protects your IP to the extent possible. If any part of your design is highly critical or proprietary, we recommend treating it as a "black box" in your documentation and videos. No code repositories or sensitive design models need to be uploaded.
Does PALS take any ownership of our developed project?
None whatsoever. The intellectual property and project physical assets remain entirely your property.
What are the exact submission materials required for the PYP stage?
Teams must upload: (1) An updated Concept & Design (C&D) Document, (2) An official signed Declaration Form, and (3) A concise 3-minute video pitch summarizing the problem statement, business hypothesis, and proposed solution.
Does PALS provide financial grants or funding to build our prototypes?
No, PALS does not provide direct financial assistance. However, PALS shares details of top-performing teams and finalists with incubators, corporate partners, and venture funds to support commercial scaling.
What happens at the Cluster Finals and the Grand Finale?
The Cluster Finals are regional physical exhibitions where teams demonstrate functional prototypes or Proofs of Concept. Selected teams are nominated for the Grand Finale at the IIT Madras campus in March, where winners are chosen across various categories and introduced to the Nirmaan pre-incubation program.

Ready to Shape the Future?

Form your multidisciplinary student team, connect with your faculty advisor, and launch your "BOLTS & BOTS" concept today.

Registration not yet open

Submit your final nominations before 8th Oct 2025

Download Guidelines & Register

Competition format and rules

Team nomination and composition.
Bonafide undergraduate students from the same Partner Institute

Diversified in domain, seniority and inclusive in gender

Team members from diverse engineering domains, gender inclusive and a good mix of senior and junior students guided by a faculty or EDC mentor

Max 5 teams per PI Value Adding Idea Motivated team
Sponsorship and other rules

PALS will not provide any financial assistance

Students can arrange for finance or other sponsorships for their projects. They are free to seek additional support outside their institute, but inform PALS

It's your IP Declare your source You manage your project