Prodigy Ideathon: frequently asked questions

Prodigy Ideathon is open to students in Classes 9–12 through participating schools. Students take part as teams and follow the eligibility and participation requirements communicated by the organisers.

Participation

No. Student registration is coordinated through participating schools. This website is for school registration, programme information and communication. Once a school is registered, the school coordinates student and team registration through an official school-issued form.

Participation

A designated school representative (a principal, teacher or coordinator) submits the school’s details through “Register your school”. Tera Compute then confirms participation and coordinates the next steps, including the MoU and the official student registration form.

Participation

A principal, teacher or coordinator who can represent the school. Students and parents cannot complete school registration on this website.

Participation

Tera Compute confirms participation and issues the official student registration form. The school circulates it to eligible Classes 9–12 students, teams of 2–4 are formed, two expert workshops are selected, and the School Round date is agreed with the school.

Participation

Students in Classes 9–12 at a participating school. They take part in teams of 2–4. Individual registration is not available.

Eligibility & teams

Each team consists of 2–4 students from Classes 9–12.

Eligibility & teams

Yes. A school fields a minimum of 30 teams to be eligible to host its School Round. A minimum participation threshold also applies under the School Onboarding MoU.

Eligibility & teams

No. A physical prototype is not mandatory unless specifically required for a particular challenge or instruction communicated by the organisers. Students are expected to identify a meaningful real-world problem, research it, develop a practical solution concept and present it through the prescribed pitch-deck format.

Eligibility & teams

The participation fee is ₹100 per participating student. Each student pays the same fee whether their team has 2, 3 or 4 members.

Fees

The participating school coordinates fee collection, whether it is collected from students or met from school funds, and maintains an internal record. Tera Compute invoices the school and does not collect from students or parents directly.

Fees

There are six: Aqua Next (water), Circular Futures (waste and materials), Sustainability Frontiers (climate and energy), EduNova (education), HealthForward (health) and Open Impact (any meaningful problem outside the other five). Each team selects one theme at registration.

The challenge

No. A theme sets the territory, not the answer. Within the chosen pathway, a team is free to pick the specific problem it wants to work on.

The challenge

AI tools may be used as permitted by the official rules. Teams remain responsible for the accuracy, originality and understanding of their submission, and ideas must be original and appropriately attributed.

The challenge

The School Round is a 3-minute pitch followed by 2 minutes of Q&A. Teams should communicate their problem, solution and impact clearly within the pitch time.

Judging

The School Round is scored by one judge nominated by the school and one judge appointed by Tera Compute, each scoring independently. The School Finale and Grand Finale are evaluated by judging panels coordinated by Tera Compute.

Judging

Teams are scored out of 50 across five criteria: Problem (10), Innovation (10), Solution (10), Impact (10) and Presentation (10). Ties are resolved by higher Solution score, then higher Impact score, then jury deliberation.

Judging

The top 3 teams from each School Round panel advance to the School Finale, which decides the school’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. The top 3 teams from every participating school then qualify for the Grand Finale, which decides the overall Champion, Runner-Up and Second Runner-Up.

Judging

Prodigy Ideathon Cohort 1 is scheduled for September–October 2026. The exact event date is mutually decided with each participating school to encourage maximum student participation.

Timeline

The core student programme runs over roughly six days of structured work: identifying a problem, researching it, designing a solution concept and pitching. Exact on-campus dates are agreed with each school within the September–October 2026 window.

Timeline

Cohort 1 is run through participating schools in Ghaziabad and Delhi NCR. The School Round is held on the school’s own campus. The inter-school Grand Finale venue is confirmed with participating schools.

Timeline

Under the School Onboarding MoU, the completed onboarding form (with the final confirmed student count, two selected expert sessions and preferred programme dates) is submitted by 10 September 2026.

Timeline

Yes. Each participating school may opt for any two expert-led workshops at no additional charge, subject to the available programme tracks and scheduling. Each session runs 60–90 minutes and may be for students or faculty.

Workshops

Yes. Additional custom workshops, specialised modules and faculty-development programmes may be arranged separately, subject to expert availability and applicable pricing.

Workshops

Yes. Every participating student receives a Certificate of Participation. School-level winners additionally receive trophies and recognition certificates.

Recognition

At the school level, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams receive trophies and recognition certificates. At the Grand Finale, the top three teams win cash awards along with the championship titles of Prodigy Ideathon Cohort 1: the Champion wins ₹10,000, the Runner-Up ₹7,000 and the Second Runner-Up ₹5,000, a ₹22,000 cash pool.

Recognition

Organisations can work with Prodigy Ideathon as a knowledge, innovation, education, industry or community partner, host the Grand Finale, or support the wider programme. Start with the Call for Partnerships page and the enquiry form; the team will follow up to discuss a fit.

Partnerships

No. Partnerships are built around a shared goal: genuine engagement with schools, educators and Classes 9–12 innovators. They are scoped as experiences rather than logo placement. Contribution levels are discussed case by case.

Partnerships