Preamble:
Preamble:
The Indian Institute of Metals (IIM), established in 1946 with the objective of promoting the science
and practice of metallurgy in India, has grown from a membership of 42 in 1946 to 12,000+. With a strong commitment to nation-building and economic development, IIM aims to create platforms that
bridge the gap between academia, industry, and startups.
In view of the new opportunities emerging from the Government of India’s Make in India initiative and
the rapidly growing startup ecosystem in the country, there is an urgent need to rejuvenate core
engineering skills among our students across India. In pursuit of this vision, The Indian Institutes of
Metals (IIM) introduces IIM MATRIx 2026 (Materials Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Expo), a distinctive Startup Hackathon centered on Metallurgical/Materials Engineering, and
Manufacturing/Production Engineering.
About the Initiative:
About the Initiative:
IIM MATRIx (Materials Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Expo) is a Startup Hackathon
designed to inspire students to develop innovative and sustainable solutions in the domains of
Metallurgical/Materials Engineering, and Manufacturing/Production Engineering. The hackathon
focuses on identifying breakthrough ideas that address real-world challenges such as sustainable
materials, smart manufacturing, recycling technologies, industrial efficiency, etc.
IIM MATRIx will be organized at IIT Hyderabad on 19 June 2026 (Friday), where shortlisted
teams will demonstrate their working prototypes before a panel of experts, industry leaders, and
investors.
To encourage and support promising innovations, selected winning teams will be eligible for a seed
grant of up to ₹20 lakhs. This funding aims to:
1. Support validation of prototype
2. Enable early-stage startup development
3. Provide initial financial backing for commercialization
Who can apply and How to apply?
Who can apply and How to apply?
1. UG, PG and PhD students in Metallurgical/Materials Engineering, and Manufacturing/Production
Engineering departments.
2. The students can apply as individual or as a team. In case of a team, the team leader should submit the application. The team leader should be currently a UG/PG/PhD student in Metallurgical/Materials Engineering, and Manufacturing/Production Engineering departments of any recognized Indian institute. Every member of the team should be a student only.
3. The students should have a prototype of a product or process developed, which is ready to be
demonstrated.
4. The team should upload a 2-minute video on the product/process along with the following details
(through Google form)
(a) State of the art in the field,
(b) Uniqueness of innovation,
(c) Current
status of the innovation,
(d) TRL level of the innovation,
(e) Current bottleneck for the
commercialization of the product/process,
(f) If patented, patent application number, and the status
of the patent and
(g) How the seed grant funding from IIM will be utilized.
Selection Process:
Selection Process:
1. The applicants will be shortlisted based on the 2-minute video and other details received through a
Google form.
2. Final selection will be based on an in-person demonstration and a pitch on June 19, 2026
(Forenoon) at IIT Hyderabad made by the team leader. This will have two parts.
(a) Demonstration of product prototype or process through a physical model or computer
simulation/app developed. The evaluation committee will go through all the demonstration
and will shortlist a max. of 10 innovations for pitching.
(b) One of the members of the team should pitch their innovation in a max. of 5 minutes, based
on which the final selection will be made.
3. Prize distribution for the selected teams will be on the same day afternoon (Jun 19, 2026).
Evaluation Criteria:
Evaluation Criteria:
1. Problem-Solution Fit (Clarity of the problem and how effectively the idea solves it)
2. Innovation & Uniqueness (Novelty of the idea and differentiation from existing solutions)
3. Feasibility & Scalability (Practicality of implementation and potential to scale)
4. Pitch Clarity & Impact (Communication quality, confidence, and overall impact of the pitch)
Basic Information:
Basic Information:
1. Last date for submitting the Pitch video (strictly 2 min) and Google form: May 15, 2026
2. Announcement of Shortlisted Entries: May 31, 2026
3. IIM MATRIx 2026 Startup Hackathon (offline only): June 19, 2026
4. Accommodation for a maximum of 2 students per team will be provided at IIT Hyderabad hostels
for shortlisted participants (Rs. 300 per day) for 2 nights (June 18-19, 2026).
Contact
Contact
Ms. Atashi Saha, Additional General Manager (general-admin@iim-india.net)
Ms. Rupkatha Saha, Deputy Manager-Membership Dev. & Operations (info@iim-india.net/ operations@iim-india.net)
Register for IIM Start Up Hackathon 2026
