Chandigarh, August 23, 2025 – In a bid to foster entrepreneurial spirit among the youth, Chandigarh University (CU) hosted ‘Zero-to-One’, a groundbreaking 24-hour Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Building Hackathon, attracting 400 young innovators from across 15 states. The event, organized by CU’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Cell (CU-IEDC) in collaboration with its Technology Business Incubator (CU-TBI), was held on August 22 to commemorate World Entrepreneurs’ Day and positioned itself as one of India’s largest university-led hackathons.
The hackathon, themed ‘an idea in the morning, a start-up by night’, provided participants a high-intensity platform to brainstorm, develop, and pitch market-ready MVPs. It drew registrations from over 1,300 teams comprising more than 5,200 students from leading universities nationwide. Top performers gained access to a $6 million prize pool and direct entry into Campus Tank, CU’s initiative for startup funding and incubation.
Amity Directorate of Management and Allied Areas (ADGIPS) from Delhi emerged as the top winner, while Chandigarh University secured the second position. The top three teams earned direct spots in Campus Tank, and the top 10 will receive four months of hands-on support from CU for MVP development, incubation, and market launch.
Deep Inder Singh Sandhu, Senior Managing Director of Chandigarh University, highlighted the event’s significance: “Zero to One is the first of its kind MVP building hackathon organized by Chandigarh University that is aimed at transforming ideas into enterprise. It has brought together students, startups and tech enthusiasts to brainstorm, innovate, build and present impactful start-up solutions under the mentorship of industry stalwarts.” He expressed optimism that such initiatives will propel India’s startup ecosystem to global leadership, noting CU’s track record of incubating over 200 startups.
Archita Nandi, Director of CU-TBI, added: “While top 3 teams got the direct entry in the Campus Tank, the top 10 selected teams will be handheld by CU to release an MVP in the most frictionless environment for the next 4 months with incubation and market launch support from Chandigarh University.”
Industry experts praised the initiative. Uday Sharma, Founder & CEO of DevnDez, said: “Such a competition is a great initiative for promoting a Startup culture among students. Chandigarh University is promoting Startup culture among students with such Hackathons which is a great initiative.”
Piyush Sharma, Google Cloud Facilitator and founder of YouTube channel @trickyman, remarked: “Chandigarh University 24-hour hackathon is a great initiative, where students got a chance to launch their startup in 24 hours. I think this initiative will inspire other universities.”
The hackathon underscores Chandigarh University’s commitment to nurturing job creators and bridging academic innovation with real-world entrepreneurship.
Key Individuals and Organizations to Tag:
- Chandigarh University: @Chandigarh_uni (X handle)
- Deep Inder Singh Sandhu (Senior Managing Director, Chandigarh University) – No public X handle found
- Archita Nandi (Director, CU-TBI) – No public X handle found
- Uday Sharma (Founder & CEO, DevnDez): @udaysharmaaaaa (X handle)
- Piyush Sharma (Google Cloud Facilitator, @trickyman on YouTube): @RealTrickyMan (X handle)
- DevnDez: @devndez (X handle)
