Noida : The OpenAI Academy x NxtWave Regional Buildathon – Delhi, brought together over 500 student innovators across Delhi-NCR. Distinguished leader from India’s education and skilling ecosystem – Dr. Buddha Chandra Shekhar, Chief Coordinating Officer, AICTE inaugurated the 2-day buildathon at Noida International University. This buildathon serves as a key pre-summit initiative leading up to the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, a flagship global gathering hosted by the Government of India under the IndiaAI Mission.
The Delhi buildathon is part of the OpenAI Academy x NxtWave Buildathon – India’s largest GenAI challenge, organized under the affiliation of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s (MeitY) IndiaAI initiative. The Buildathon aims to empower young innovators to explore the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence in domains such as healthcare, education, agriculture, business, and public safety.
Speaking at the inauguration, Dr. Buddha Chandra Shekhar, Chief Coordinating Officer, AICTE, Ministry of Education, “The OpenAI Academy x NxtWave Buildathon strongly advances Government of India’s IndiaAI mission and Make in India mission – strengthening skill-based learning and preparing India’s youth for the AI-driven future. By giving young innovators, a platform to design and build AI solutions from the ground up, we are cultivating homegrown talent capable of creating world-class technologies for India and the world. This initiative is not just about learning AI—it is about empowering students to become builders, problem-solvers, and innovators who will shape India’s technological leadership in the decade ahead. We are proud to support programs that bring academia, industry, and emerging technology together to unlock AI talent at scale.”
Rahul Attuluri, CEO and Co-Founder, NxtWave said, “We’re thrilled to witness thousands of students across India embracing GenAI and building solutions with global potential. What we saw in Delhi reinforces a powerful truth—the next wave of AI innovation will come from India’s youth. With the right mentorship and access to OpenAI’s tools, these students are creating prototypes that can evolve into real-world products.”
From Delhi and NCR, participation came from prestigious institutions like Delhi Technological University (DTU), Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University (Dwarka), Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Research, Guru Nanak Dev Institute of Technology (Rohini), Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW), Jamia Hamdard, Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies (Pitampura), and the University School of Automation and Robotics, Amity University (Noida), Bennett University (Greater Noida), Galgotias College of Engineering & Technology (Greater Noida), IGNOU, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research & Studies (Faridabad), SRM Institute of Science & Technology (Delhi-NCR Campus) and many more.
Students leveraged OpenAI’s GPT-4.1, GPT-4.0, and advanced multimodal AI tools to conceptualize, build, and showcase impactful AI-driven prototypes under the guidance of 50+ expert mentors from NxtWave.
High-impact prototypes built by students ranged from smart waste segregation robot – a robot equipped with a camera and YOLO model that can detect different types of waste; a drone-based delivery simulation where users request emergency medical supplies; a campus Issue reporting & resolution system – a platform where students can raise issues like water leaks, cleanliness, maintenance, safety; secure-link verification & protection tool; attendance & event management app for Universities – a smart system that handles event registrations, QR-based attendance, participation tracking, and analytics for colleges; AI lost & found system with image recognition; smart parking allocation & tracking system; real-time campus emergency alert & SOS App; automated hostel/room allocation platform; food waste tracker and donation routing app.
