03/08/2026
🌍 Empowering Women. Inspiring Innovation. Driving Sustainability. 💧
MKSSS's Cummins College of Engineering for Women, Pune, in collaboration with Cummins India Foundation and WaterAid India, proudly participated in the Water Champion Innovation Challenge 2026—a unique initiative that inspired young innovators to develop sustainable, women-led solutions for building water-secure communities.
The challenge served as a prelude to Impact Dialogue 2.0, encouraging students to address real-world water challenges through innovation, technology, and social entrepreneurship while contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Highlights of Cummins College Participation
🔹 120+ students enthusiastically participated.
🔹 46 multidisciplinary teams proposed innovative, low-cost, and scalable solutions addressing water conservation, governance, and community resilience.
🔹 After a rigorous evaluation process, the Top 5 teams were shortlisted to present their innovations at Impact Dialogue 2.0, hosted at Cummins India on 30 July 2026.
To provide students with valuable industry exposure, an Industrial Visit was organized, enabling them to interact with industry leaders, innovators, and sustainability experts while showcasing their solutions on a prestigious platform.
Distinguished Dignitaries
The event was graced by senior leadership from Cummins India and Cummins Inc., including:
Mr. Ashish Agrawal, Chief Administrative Officer, Cummins India
Mr. Jeff (Cummins Inc.)
Mr. Subramanyam (Cummins India)
Representing MKSSS and Cummins College were:
Shri Ravindra Deo, Chairman, MKSSS
Dr. Shastry, Secretary, MKSSS
Dr. Madhuri Khambete, Principal, Cummins College of Engineering for Women
Inspiring Student Innovations
The participating teams demonstrated exceptional creativity by proposing impactful solutions such as:
💧 Smart Water Hubs for rural communities
👩🌾 Women-centric entrepreneurship models for sustainable livelihoods
🤖 AI-supported water analytics, forecasting, and resource management
🌱 Groundwater harvesting and recharge systems
📊 Community-driven water governance and conservation initiatives
These innovative ideas highlighted how engineering, Artificial Intelligence, sustainability, and social innovation can work together to solve pressing societal challenges.
A Collaborative Effort
The initiative was successfully coordinated at Cummins College by Dr. Dipti Patil, Dean – Student Affairs, with the support of faculty evaluators:
Prof. Sneha Singh
Dr. Gautham Chandekar
Dr. Vishal Deore
We sincerely appreciate the outstanding support and collaboration from the Cummins India Foundation team:
Mr. Saif Noor
Mr. Ameet Lele
Ms. Realy Verma
Towards a Sustainable Future
The Water Champion Innovation Challenge provided students with a unique opportunity to engage with real societal problems, interact with industry leaders, and develop solutions aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—particularly SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
At Cummins College, we remain committed to nurturing socially responsible engineers who innovate with purpose and contribute meaningfully to sustainable development.