Jalgaon: The 'Shield Tech' student team from the University Institute of Chemical Technology (UICT) of Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon, has won the All India Championship at the Smart India Hackathon 2025, adding a prestigious feather to the university's cap. Vice-Chancellor Prof. V.L. Maheshwari felicitated the students.
This competition was organized jointly by the All India Council for Technical Education and the Ministry of Education, Government of India. Various departments of the Government of India organize national-level competitions every year to find solutions to certain problems. Accordingly, this competition was announced in September 2025.
The university participated in this competition for the first time. The team's project, "N-Phantom: Stealth Coating for Protection," focuses on reducing radar detection capabilities, heat, and infrared emissions in the defense sector, and is consistent with the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (Self-Reliant India) concept. The team secured first place in the competition and received a prize of ₹1,50,000/- (One lakh fifty thousand rupees). The final round was held at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai, from December 8 to 12, 2025.
The winning team included Dipanshu Rahangdale, Netradeep Kadam, Chaitanya Satpute, Prajakta Lankhe, Bhargav Raikar, and Sahil Zambre from the University Institute of Chemical Technology. Vice-Chancellor Prof. V.L. Maheshwari immediately approved the proposal for the university's teams to participate in the competition, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof. S.T. Ingle, along with KCIIIL, issued a circular and encouraged students by visiting the departments. A team from the University Institute of Chemical Technology was selected from the university.
In this national-level competition, a total of 68,766 teams from IITs and other renowned higher education institutions and universities across the country participated to find the best solution to 271 problems. Two rounds of presentations were held for the problem posed by the Ministry of Defence.
From these, five teams were selected for the final round, including the team from Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon, along with the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai (Maharashtra), Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Bangalore (Karnataka), A.C. Government College of Engineering, Karaikudi, and M. Kumarasamy College of Engineering, Karur (Tamil Nadu). From these teams, the 'Shield Tech' student team from the University Institute of Chemical Technology (UICT) of Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon, was finally selected.
Speaking about the team's success, Vice-Chancellor Prof. V.L. Maheshwari said that this university team has demonstrated that there are no boundaries of rural or urban areas for innovation, skill, and intelligence.
These students from the University Institute of Chemical Technology have highlighted the glory of Khandesh and the university through this research. He assured that this success story will bring national recognition to the university's name, and the university will always support such projects and will also provide assistance in startups.
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Vijay Maheshwari, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sopan Ingle, and Registrar Dr. Vinod Patil congratulated the team and their mentors on this achievement. The Director of the University Institute of Chemical Technology, Prof. Ajay Goswami, also praised the students, stating that this achievement reflects the strong tradition of research, innovation, and industry-oriented education at UICT.
The team was guided by the Head of the Department of Paint Technology, Dr. Ravindra Puri, Dr. Uday Bagale (Sangh guide), Prof. Harshala Kapadne, Dr. Bhushan B. Chaudhary (UICT coordinator), Dr. Rajkumar Shirsam and Dr. Tushar Deshpande, Rajesh Jawalekar from KCIIL, and Dr. Navin Khandare provided guidance.
