(Photo: Change Makers 2025 Summer Bootcamp Exhibition)

New Delhi: A Change Makers 2025 Summer Bootcamp organised by IIT Delhi for the students of classes 11th, 12th, and first-year undergraduates successfully culminated with an exhibition of innovative solutions developed by them to tackle various environmental challenges the planet is facing today.

106 students from all over the country participated in the three-week hybrid bootcamp from 9th to 27th June 2025.

The participating students formed 18 teams and worked on developing possible solutions in the form of prototypes to resolve problems related to carbon emissions, air pollution, water pollution, drinking water contamination, heat waves, plastic waste management, waste segregation, microplastics in water and soil, crop waste management, tackling e-waste, water scarcity, and unsustainable behaviours related to food waste.

Following were the prototypes that student  teams developed as per their problem statements:

1- Waste2Wrap Team: Sustainable packaging from corn husk waste

2- Team Aeronova: Smart exhaust emission controller to tackle vehicular pollution

3- NeerVeer: Soil parameter sensing App to reduce over irrigation in farms

4- Ecoseal: Bioplastic tape to reduce the use of plastic tapes

5- Segrenation: AI-powered smart bin to segregate recyclable and non-recyclable waste

6- Solaris: Solar suitcase for use of clean energy in remote areas

7- From Heat to Hope: Heatwaves awareness and safety App for vulnerable groups

8- Power from Motion: Piezoelectricity and bicycle pedalling devices to generate electricity

9- Voltgo: Retrieving energy from used batteries and their proper disposal to reduce e-waste

10- Khaana Rewind: Tackling unsustainable behaviours in food wastage in households

11- Aqua Nova: Reducing phosphates & nitrates in Yamuna water using an algal photo bioreactor

12- The Plastic Police: Tackling marine waste by making marine degradable bioplastic

13- Hydrosave: Greywater filtration system to reuse again for flushing, gardening & other uses

14- Eco Mode: App to spread awareness to reduce air pollution

15- Segrego: AI-powered smart bin auto-detecting and segregating waste

16- Greenpower: All terrain generator using solar, wind, micro-hydro and EM waves

17- Neerja: Reducing water contamination by making biochar from local sources

18- Microplastics: Microplastics detection & reduction in water & soil using GAC charcoal

The glimpses of their projects can be accessed at this link.

This transformative initiative, i.e., the Summer Bootcamp by IIT Delhi’s Academic Outreach Office and the Makerspace proved to be a wonderful opportunity for the participants to work with the like-minded students from different parts of the country.

During this bootcamp, the students received mentorship from the IIT Delhi faculty, staff, students, Change Makers alumni, and industry experts on different projects undertaken by them; the hands-on learning at the Makerspace; the access to the R&D facilities at the Institute, especially at the Centre for Rural Development and Technology and beyond; as well as immersive experiences of a cleanliness drive, a nature walk, and a participatory design workshop for climate action. 

While describing her bootcamp experience, one of the participating students, Anisha Sharma, who worked on Heat Waves Awareness and Safety app, said, “I think I speak for everyone when I say that every single moment of this bootcamp was optimized by the faculty, from organising nature walks to instilling a deeper understanding of nature to introducing us to futuristic projects in labs. However, for me, Halma was a highlight. Halma is a Bhil tradition of working together for common good of everyone without any expectations in return. I think I finally assimilated why collaborative solutions work because when we do it with people, it turns into something bigger than yourself.”

A class 11 student from DPS International School, Saket, Delhi, Parthivi Narula said, "Prototyping our project (marine-degradable bioplastic) was the most enjoyable part of the bootcamp. We spent hours in the research facility trying to get our composition right, but this is also where we bonded the most—over broken thermometers, cracked glassware, and spilt liquid silicone!” 

Syed Mohammad Abbas Haidry, 1st year undergraduate student from Fergusson College, Pune really enjoyed working at the makerspace and getting the chance to communicate with Professors and Mentors and learn from them. His team worked on making a solar suitcase for the use of clean energy in remote areas.

IIT Delhi’s Prof. Jay Dhariwal, Faculty Coordinator, Change Makers 2025 Summer Bootcamp, said, “We are very happy that the students were able to work on an environmental problem of their choice and learned to apply the design thinking process for ill-defined problem solving to come up with innovative solutions, appreciated by all. It was also heartening to experience the mentors and the project solutions come together from the diverse domains of engineering, sciences, design, architecture, humanities, and policy in an interdisciplinary manner to address real-world problems.”

 

(Press Release Issued on June 28, 2025)

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Please refer to the links to follow the happenings during the bootcamp:
https://www.instagram.com/changemakers.iitd/ or
https://www.linkedin.com/company/iitdchangemakers/.