Chandigarh University Launches 3-Month ‘SANDBOX Residential Program’ During AI Fest 2026; To Boost Startup Ecosystem in North India

‘AI Fest-2026’: Chandigarh University Launches ‘Centre of Excellence in Digital Marketing and marketing and marketing’ With ‘Create Whereas Learn’ Mannequin

“Commitment Breeds Outcomes, SANDBOX Residential Program Will Flee Crawl-to-Market Stage of Startups,” says Jai Inder Singh Sandhu, Managing Director, Chandigarh University

, /PRNewswire/ — Chandigarh University currently launched a 90-day SANDBOX Residential Program below which top 30 of 300 startups who are making a pitch right through its three-day AI Fest 2026 — being held at CU campus on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Fresh Delhi — would possibly possibly be equipped mentorship and sources on a single platform to aid accelerate up their hunch-to-market (GTM) stage in three domains – AI, Deeptech and Media.

Strengthening its innovation community extra, Chandigarh University also launched a Centre of Excellence in Digital Marketing and marketing and marketing working on an ‘draw whereas be taught’ model. The Centre will enable college students to work on are residing change projects and consultancy assignments whereas gaining fingers-on ride with AI-powered digital instruments. It targets to evolve into a multidisciplinary global hub for enterprise-led discovering out, innovation and digital excellence.

The portal for SANDBOX used to be launched by Jai Inder Singh Sandhu, Managing Director, Chandigarh University right throughout the 2nd day of the AI Fest currently in the presence of Himeesh Madaan, Commercial Proprietor, Him-eesh Madaan Coaching Alternatives, Ganesh Prasad S, Co-Founder and COO, Judge College, Neeraj Walia, Technical Lead | Stutter Creator, Yellow.ai, Nivedan Rathi, Founder, Future & AI, Dr Archana Gaur Sharma, Senior Scientist, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, Manish Swami, Co-Founder and Chief Ingenious Officer, First AI Consultancy Companies and products, Dr Bhanu Pratap Singh Saluja, Director, Robotic Arthroplasty Center of Excellence, Ashish Chadha, Neighborhood CEO, North-Park Neighborhood of Hospitals, Vijayalakshmi, Ed. CEO Tidy Enviornment of expertise Park Hospitals, Amit Singhal, General Companion, Indicorn Angels, Fluid Ventures, and Realtime (RTAF), Jimish Kapadia, Co-Founder, Growth Sense/Growth91, Pulkit Mehrotra, Vice President, Unicorn India Ventures, Taranjeet Singh, Founder and CEO, Surge AI, Sanjib Biswas, Companion, Neighborhood Engineering Manager, Microsoft, Vishnu Gogula, Predominant PM Manager, Microsoft, Bhargav Muthur Ramachandran, Co-Founder, Intellikar, Ayush Jain, Predominant – Investments and Finance, Multiply Mission, Dr Suman Jyoti Deka, Co-Founder and CEO, Lajawab, Sameer Shaikh, Co-Founder, FundEnable, Dr Manish Kumar Leela, Founding Director, Compositec Greensol and Anuj Agarwal, Proprietor, ColliseumTalents.

On open of SANDBOX Residential Program, Jai Inder Singh Sandhu mentioned “Unlike vulnerable packages that spread mentorship and sources across multiple cohorts, SANDBOX Residential Program will operate on a singular principle: ‘Commitment Breeds Outcomes’. By requiring co-founders and complete groups to be physically novel and totally dedicated to their ventures, SANDBOX is the Founders Field. The 90-day residential ambiance which is in a characteristic to be equipped below this residency program has been designed to compress the typical 12-18-month seed-to-sequence straggle into a duration of radical acceleration through three core mechanisms: AI, Agentic AI and Enviornment of interest micro sectors,” he mentioned.

“As a transformative cohort-constructing initiative, the Sandbox Residency Program targets to name, mentor and scale promising startups from belief stage to market-ready enterprises. Applications for this technique dangle opened with the lunch of SANDBOX portal currently and this would possibly possibly well perchance well remain open for registrations for forty five days enabling startups nationwide to exercise. This residency program will present complete incubation make stronger, including educated mentoring, structured handholding, seed funding facilitation, web space trend assistance and steering on availing monetary make stronger below national startup initiatives,” Sandhu added.

AI Fest–2026, conceived as a premier national platform to accelerate up AI-pushed entrepreneurship, aspects three flagship initiatives — CU InnovFest 2026, Campus Tank and Sandbox seamlessly integrating ideation, incubation and commercialization.

The festival is web hosting over 35 competitions across artificial intelligence and emerging technology domains, drawing participation from more than 1,000 groups from India and overseas. With over 10,000 college students representing 200+ universities and colleges, the tournament has emerged as one in every of the biggest academic AI congregations in the country. Backed by a prize pool exceeding Rs 1 crore, winning groups will derive money awards and certificates of distinction. Contributors will also fabricate earn admission to to globally identified certifications from SAS Institute, with certification advantages valued at over Rs 1 crore.

Taking part in a panel discussion right throughout the Day-2 of AI Fest on ‘AI Engineered Actuality’ Dr Archana Sharma, Pravasi Bhartiya Awardee 2023 by President of India, Head Relatives Global Organisations at CERN, Predominant Scientist at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Learn at Geneva, Switzerland) mentioned, “AI is a catalyst which is accelerating the accelerate at which the enviornment is engaging.”

“We are using AI on each day basis from the morning fright to power to your destination after which optimizing your web productivity. We peer a big possible in India on how collaborative science can lift this forward for making improvements to quality of the societal revenue, decrease the time for evaluation after which exploit the total instruments that are coming out from the slicing edge and bleeding edge of science and technology. National Quantum Mission of India will fleet multiply the rate at which the country is engaging forward. So, AI plus quantum will crunch the total number crunching that we are in a position to invent in minutes which can perchance well doubtless lift months or years earlier than. So, college students currently there’s a mammoth opportunity to be at the leading edge of these trends as 30% of GDP of america is coming from India. CEOs of Main companies are from India,” she added.

Dr. Bhanu Pratap Singh Saluja, Director of Robotic Arthroplasty Centre of Excellence mentioned, “Human touch is constantly going to be there because even to earn a surgical draw executed from a robot, or no longer it is the surgeon who finalizes the reveal algorithm fed in the robot that are upright or no longer. Robotic surgical draw is terribly valid variety in precision, accuracy, and perfection in outcomes because it ends in lesser blood loss, minimum aloof tissue hurt, most end result, and rehabilitation much less. These are the total valid variety aspects of the robot. I will gentle snort that any surgeon who’s going to compose a robotic surgical draw has to dangle an ride doing it manually. Because getting acquainted alongside with your patient is terribly crucial and that’s the reason what supplies the human touch. When human touch is connected to AI intelligence, it supplies valid variety and intensely ideal outcomes. The patient pleasure ranking goes to the subsequent level,” he added.

Vishnu Gogula, Predominant PM Manager, Microsoft, mentioned, “The ideal sturdy skill currently is the necessity to aid discovering out. Every technological revolution in the industrial age, computers, web didn’t fabricate humans musty. It pushed us to evolve. It isn’t a demand of whether or no longer AI replaces humans. It’s about whether or no longer we evolve. At the same time as you are a student currently in medication, engineering or any field, build updated. As long as you retain adapting, you are going to remain relevant. AI doesn’t build away with humans. It shifts rate upward from execution to orchestration and governance.” On agentic products he mentioned, “GPU shortages and leisurely chip manufacturing remain predominant bottlenecks, alongside challenges in cooling and vitality. But as constantly, human ingenuity will overcome these constraints.”

Ganesh Prasad, Founder, Judge College, mentioned, “If I dangle been starting currently in the AI technology, I’d no longer change the basics. The instruments dangle evolved from upright Google to platforms like Gemini and Midjourney, but values assemble companies, no longer instruments. AI can make stronger rate but can no longer replace thinking. The instruments dangle modified however the formula has no longer be taught, act, fail, increase. Simply adding AI in every single suppose doesn’t assemble innovation. There are three core abilities AI can no longer replace, verbal change, venture management and other folks management. At the same time as you also cannot snort your thoughts, you also cannot lead, sell and even exercise AI neatly. College shouldn’t be the least bit times truly a platform to prevail; or no longer it is some distance a platform to fail safely. Fabricate something, sell something, manage events. Are trying over and over. Fail on the total to be taught fleet.”

Himeesh Madaan, Commercial Proprietor, Him-eesh Madaan Coaching Alternatives mentioned, “AI can accelerate up execution, but it is some distance going to no longer replace human working out. It’s possible you’ll perchance well be in a characteristic to exercise instruments, you too can own 30 reels a month, podcasts, long movies but whenever you are no longer fixing trusty complications or reflecting trusty feelings, it is possible you’ll perchance doubtless doubtless no longer assemble a true community. Views would possibly possibly well doubtless additionally be sold with tactics, trust can no longer. In phrases of founders and high performers, one factor is fashioned they devise no longer overthink. They mediate and act.”

About Chandigarh University

Chandigarh University is a NAAC A+ Grade University and QS World Ranked University. This self sustaining educational establishment is authorised by UGC and is found reach Chandigarh in the suppose of Punjab. It’s the youngest college in India and the ideal non-public college in Punjab to be honoured with A+ Grade by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council). CU supplies more than 109 UG and PG packages in the sphere of engineering, management, pharmacy, guidelines, structure, journalism, animation, resort management, commerce, and others. It has been awarded as The University with Biggest Placements by WCRC.

Web space address: https://www.cuchd.in/

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