PALS program

Upcoming 2-Day Physical Workshop | PALS Initiative - Faculty Development Program on AI for Educators
By Prof. Arun Tangirala, IIT Tirupati
From Chalkboard to Chatbots: AI for Engineering Educators

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming engineering practice, research, and education. For faculty, the question is no longer whether to engage with AI — but how to use it meaningfully in teaching, assessment, research, and curriculum delivery.

AI for Educators is a hands-on, faculty-centric FDP, designed especially for engineering educators — no computer science background required. This program will help faculty confidently and practically integrate AI into their academic roles.

📍 First time in PALS!
🔹 A 2-Day Physical Workshop for Faculty
🔹 To be conducted at multiple locations
🔹 Partner Institutes closer to each location will be invited to register

📢 Coordinators: Please take note and watch out for further communication with detailed schedules and registration information.

📝 PS: We will be reaching out to Partner Institutes interested in hosting the 2-Day FDP.

Stay tuned — exciting learning ahead in the New Year! 🚀

🌟 PALS Residential Students’ Workshop (RSW) 2025–26 | Batch 2 Concludes Successfully 🌟
The second batch of the PALS Residential Students’ Workshop (RSW) was conducted from 22nd to 24th December 2025 at IIT Madras, bringing together an enthusiastic cohort of learners and educators under the theme Think • Create • Engineer.

📊 Participation at a glance:
147 students
29 faculty members
31 Partner Institutes
176 total participants

🙏 Our sincere thanks to all the speakers and resource persons who generously shared their time, insights, and experiences across the three days.
Prathap Haridoss GURUSAMY BALAGANESAN Jayan Narayanan Sridhar Ranganathan Sivakumar Srinivasan Stephen Monteiro Sridar N Ashwin Mahalingam Malati Raghunath

Their engaging sessions, thought-provoking perspectives, and continued support added immense value to the RSW experience for both students and faculty.

The venue arrangements and logistics were exceptionally well managed, ensuring a smooth and immersive residential experience for all participants. Over three days, students collaborated intensively on projects, interacted with experts, and showcased their learning through prototype demonstrations evaluated by multiple jury panels.

We extend our sincere gratitude to the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and the Director IITM for their continued support, infrastructure, and encouragement, which played a crucial role in the successful ex*****on of RSW Batch 2.

Batch 2 truly reinforced the spirit of experiential learning, collaboration, and engineering excellence. We look forward to carrying this momentum forward in the upcoming batches.

🌟 EDC 360° Conclave 2025 @ IIT Madras
PALS hosted the EDC 360° Conclave on 29 Nov 2025, bringing together 140+ leaders from Partner Institutes across TN, KA, KL, AP & TS. Principals, Deans, EDC Heads, Innovation Centre leads and student teams came together to strengthen the innovation & entrepreneurship ecosystem in engineering institutions.

Opening the session, Krishnamurti R Rao, PALS Champion, reflected on PALS’ 13-year journey—from a small alumni initiative to a strong bridge connecting IITs, industry and institutions across South India and Nepal.

🎙️ Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Chairman – ITEL, delivered an inspiring keynote:
• Talent exists everywhere
• Entrepreneurship needs managerial, financial, legal & leadership skills
• With proper guidance, at least 15% students can sustain the entrepreneurial journey by solving meaningful local problems

💬 The panel discussion anchored by Mr. Mohan Narayanan & Ms. Viji Sankar, featuring Dr C.R. Rene Robin, Dr R. Kumaravelan, Dr J. Arun Kumar, Dr Divyarani M.S., and Mr Sarju S, shared practical insights on:
• Building campus innovation ecosystems
• Academic models (credits, internships, entrepreneurship courses)
• Collaborating with industry & incubators
• Solving ground-level EDC challenges

🎓 Prof. Satyanarayanan Seshadri (IITM) presented a structured 24-step pathway to teach entrepreneurship.

💡 Dr. Shankar Venugopal (Mahindra & Mahindra) shared the innovation triad — Iccha Shakti, Gnana Shakti, Kriya Shakti — and the CREATE method for idea generation.

🚀 Prof. Richa Agrawal (IITM) showcased IITM’s strong student-led innovation culture.
🏢 Mr. Kishore Kumar (AIC–Anna Incubator) highlighted incubation support & expectations from student startups.

🤝 MoUs with Immersive Technology (ITEL) and AIC–Anna Incubator opened new mentorship and incubation avenues.

✨ The Conclave reinforced one message: Innovation grows when academia, industry & students work together with purpose.

🔖

PALS proudly presents the EDC Conclave 2025: “EDC 360° – Thinking Innovation, Incubation & Impact.”
Happening at IIT Madras, this power-packed conclave brings together Principals, Directors, EDC Heads, Innovation Centre Leaders, and senior academic champions from across South India to reimagine the future of campus entrepreneurship.

Join us for a full-day experience featuring keynote insights, panel discussions, and deep-dive conversations on strengthening EDC ecosystems, enhancing innovation labs, building entrepreneurial mindsets, and empowering institutions to create large-scale societal impact.

If your institution believes in nurturing innovators and driving meaningful change, this is the place to be.
📍 TTJ Auditorium, IIT Madras
📅 29 November 2025 (Saturday)—9:30 AM onwards

Let’s reshape the future of engineering education, innovation culture, and institution-led impact.

PALS is organizing a Three-Day Online Faculty Development Program (FDP) on
“AI Impact Across Industries” — exploring how Artificial Intelligence is transforming sectors such as Automobile, Semiconductor, Energy, Banking, Retail, and Manufacturing.

🗓️ Dates: 18th–20th November
💻 Mode: Online
🎙️ Featuring speakers from TCS, ServiceNow & Tata Electronics sharing real-world applications and future AI trends.

📌 Only for PALS Partner Institutions

🎉 PALS is thrilled to celebrate the spirit of innovation! 🚀

We’re proud to share the incredible highlights of MInT-ATHON 2025 — a grand celebration of creativity, innovation, and engineering excellence! 💡✨

💥 272 submissions from across India
🏫 185+ entries from 45 PALS Partner Institutes
👩‍🔬 700+ enthusiastic student innovators participated!

👏 A huge congratulations!
We’re excited to announce that 16 out of the Top 25 shortlisted teams are from PALS Partner Institutes! 🌟

Your hard work, innovation, and passion have made us proud. ❤️

📍 What’s Next:
🔸 25 shortlisted teams will present at the upcoming MInT Monthly Roundtable (tentatively last week of November).
🔸 Promising ideas will be considered for funding and prototype implementation.
🔸 Selected teams will receive mentorship, incubation, and seed funding up to ₹2 Lakhs under the MInT–IIT ecosystem.

Keep the innovative spirit alive — the journey has just begun! 💪✨

💡 PALS Tinkathon 2025 – Karnataka completed! 💡

PALS Tinkathon was successfully hosted at Presidency University Bangalore 🎉

Tinkathon is a one-day problem-solving workshop and the preliminary qualifier for the PALS Residential Student Workshop. This hands-on event ignites creativity through design, drawing, calculations, lateral thinking, and mini project challenges. The workshop featured an exciting Out-of-the-Box Quiz, engaging Design Thinking sessions, and hands-on projects that inspired participants to think differently and innovate beyond the ordinary. 🚀✨

Students from various institutions were teamed up to collaboratively work on their projects within a short time frame — showcasing impressive teamwork and creative problem-solving skills! 🤝

A total of 98 students from 11 Partner Institutes participated with great enthusiasm.
Adichunchanagiri Institute of Technology
BMS Institute of Technology and Management
Maharaja Institute of Technology
Mysuru Royal Institute of Technology
Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology
Presidency University Bangalore
The National Institute Of Engineering, Mysore
Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering
Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU)

A day filled with innovation, creativity, and collaboration! 🌟

💡 PALS Tinkathon 2025 – Chennai II Cluster completed! 💡

PALS Tinkathon was successfully hosted at Group of Institutions, Chennai! 🎉

This hands-on workshop ignited creativity through design, drawing, calculations, lateral thinking, and mini-project challenges. The workshop featured an exciting Out-of-the-Box Quiz, engaging Design Thinking sessions, and hands-on projects that inspired participants to think differently and innovate beyond the ordinary.

Students from various institutions were teamed up to collaboratively work on their projects within a short time frame — showcasing impressive teamwork and creative problem-solving skills! 🤝

A total of 72 students from 8 Partner Institutes participated with great enthusiasm:

Aarupadai Veedu Institute Of Technology
Arasu Engineering College
CK College of Engineering & Technology
Jerusalem College of Engineering - India
Loyola-ICAM College of Engineering and Technology
Sri Sai Ram Institute of Technology (Sairam Group of Institutions)
INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY-KATTANKULATHUR
Tagore Engineering College

A day filled with innovation, creativity, and collaboration! 🌟

💡 PALS Tinkathon 2025 – Kerala Cluster completed! 💡

PALS Tinkathon was successfully hosted at Vidya Academy of Science and Technology on 25th October 2025🎉

Attended by ninety enthusiastic students from ten Kerala Engineering Institutions, the workshop was instrumental in igniting creativity through design, drawing, calculations, lateral thinking, and mini project challenges. The workshop featured an exciting Out-of-the-Box Quiz, engaging Design Thinking sessions, and hands-on projects that inspired participants to think differently and innovate beyond the ordinary. 🚀✨

Students from various institutions were teamed up to collaboratively work on their projects within a short time frame — showcasing impressive teamwork and creative problem-solving skills! 🤝

Federal Institute of Science and Technology (FISAT)
Jawaharlal College of Engineering and Technology (JCET), Ottapalam
JYOTHI ENGINEERING COLLEGE, CHERUTHURUTHY
KMEA Engineering College, Cochin, India
Muthoot Institute of Technology and Science
Royal College of Engineering and Technology
Sahrdaya College of Engineering & Technology (Autonomous)
Sreepathy Institute of Management And Technology
St. Joseph's College of Engineering and Technology, Palai(Autonomous)
Vidya Academy of Science and Technology

A day filled with innovation, creativity, and collaboration! 🌟

💡 PALS Tinkathon 2025 – Chennai I Cluster completed! 💡

PALS Tinkathon was successfully hosted at GRT Institute of Engineering and Technology, Tiruttani! 🎉

Tinkathon, a one-day problem-solving workshop and the preliminary qualifier for the PALS Residential Student Workshop, is a hands-on event that ignites creativity through design, drawing, calculations, lateral thinking, and mini project challenges.
The workshop featured an exciting Out-of-the-Box Quiz, engaging Design Thinking sessions, and hands-on projects that inspired participants to think differently and innovate beyond the ordinary. 🚀✨

Students from various institutions were teamed up to collaboratively work on their projects within a short time frame — showcasing impressive teamwork and creative problem-solving skills! 🤝

A total of 97 students from 11 PALS Partner Institutes participated with great enthusiasm:

Alpha College Of Engineering
Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute
GRT Institute of Engineering and Technology
Narayana Engineering College Nellore
PRATHYUSHA ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Rajalakshmi Engineering College
Rajalakshmi Institute of Technology
(Deemed University)
Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering
St. Peter's Medical College, Hospital and Research Institute
Viswam Engineering College (Viswam Group of Institutions)
A day filled with innovation, creativity, and collaboration! 🌟

💡 PALS Tinkathon 2025 – Rest of TN completed! 💡

PALS Tinkathon was successfully hosted at Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi, on 25th October 2025🎉

3rd Session in the month of October to ignite creativity through design, drawing, calculations, lateral thinking, and mini project challenges.

Students from various institutions were teamed up to collaboratively work on their projects within a short time frame — showcasing impressive teamwork and creative problem-solving skills! 🤝

A total of 113 students from 12 Partner Institutes participated with great enthusiasm:
Arunachala College of Engineering for Women, Kanyakumari
DHIRAJLAL GANDHI COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY, SALEM
Kalaignar Karunanidhi Institute of Technology
M.A.M. College of Engineering and Technology
Mepco Schlenk Engineering College
Nandha Engineering College
PSNA College of Engineering and Technology
RAMCO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Sri Eshwar College of Engineering
Thiagarajar College of Engineering
Velalar College of Engineering and Technology
Vivekanandha College of Engineering for Women

A day filled with innovation, creativity, and collaboration! 🌟