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' With 'Earn While Learn' Model
"Commitment Breeds Outcomes, SANDBOX Residential Program Will Accelerate Go-to-Market Stage of Startups," says Jai Inder Singh Sandhu, Managing Director, Chandigarh University
CHANDIGARH, India, Feb. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Chandigarh University today launched a 90-day SANDBOX Residential Program under which top 30 of 300 startups who are making a pitch during its three-day AI Fest 2026 -- being held at CU campus on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi -- will be provided mentorship and resources on a single platform to help accelerate their go-to-market (GTM) stage in three domains – AI, Deeptech and Media.
Strengthening its innovation network further, Chandigarh University also launched a Centre of Excellence in Digital Marketing operating on an 'earn while learn' model. The Centre will allow students to work on live industry projects and consultancy assignments while gaining hands-on experience with AI-powered digital tools. It aims to evolve into a multidisciplinary global hub for enterprise-led learning, innovation and digital excellence.
The portal for SANDBOX was launched by Jai Inder Singh Sandhu, Managing Director, Chandigarh University during the second day of the AI Fest today in the presence of Himeesh Madaan, Business Owner, Him-eesh Madaan Training Solutions, Ganesh Prasad S, Co-Founder and COO, Think School, Neeraj Walia, Technical Lead | Content Creator, Yellow.ai, Nivedan Rathi, Founder, Future & AI, Dr Archana Gaur Sharma, Senior Scientist, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, Manish Swami, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, First AI Consultancy Services, Dr Bhanu Pratap Singh Saluja, Director, Robotic Arthroplasty Center of Excellence, Ashish Chadha, Group CEO, North-Park Group of Hospitals, Vijayalakshmi, Ed. CEO Super Specialty Park Hospitals, Amit Singhal, General Partner, 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, Partner, Group Engineering Manager, Microsoft, Vishnu Gogula, Principal PM Manager, Microsoft, Bhargav Muthur Ramachandran, Co-Founder, Intellikar, Ayush Jain, Principal - Investments and Finance, Multiply Venture, 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, Owner, ColliseumTalents.
On launch of SANDBOX Residential Program, Jai Inder Singh Sandhu said "Unlike traditional programs that spread mentorship and resources across multiple cohorts, SANDBOX Residential Program will operate on a singular principle: 'Commitment Breeds Outcomes'. By requiring co-founders and entire teams to be physically present and fully dedicated to their ventures, SANDBOX is the Founders Space. The 90-day residential environment which will be provided under this residency program has been designed to compress the typical 12-18-month seed-to-series journey into a period of radical acceleration through three core mechanisms: AI, Agentic AI and Niche micro sectors," he said.
"As a transformative cohort-building initiative, the Sandbox Residency Program aims to identify, mentor and scale promising startups from idea stage to market-ready enterprises. Applications for the program have opened with the lunch of SANDBOX portal today and it will remain open for registrations for 45 days enabling startups nationwide to apply. This residency program will provide comprehensive incubation support, including expert mentoring, structured handholding, seed funding facilitation, website development assistance and guidance on availing financial support under national startup initiatives," Sandhu added.
AI Fest–2026, conceived as a premier national platform to accelerate AI-driven entrepreneurship, features three flagship initiatives — CU InnovFest 2026, Campus Tank and Sandbox seamlessly integrating ideation, incubation and commercialization.
The festival is hosting over 35 competitions across artificial intelligence and emerging technology domains, drawing participation from more than 1,000 teams from India and abroad. With over 10,000 students representing 200+ universities and colleges, the event has emerged as one of the largest academic AI congregations in the country. Backed by a prize pool exceeding Rs 1 crore, winning teams will receive cash awards and certificates of distinction. Participants will also gain access to globally recognized certifications from SAS Institute, with certification benefits valued at over Rs 1 crore.
Participating in a panel discussion during the Day-2 of AI Fest on 'AI Engineered Reality' Dr Archana Sharma, Pravasi Bhartiya Awardee 2023 by President of India, Head Relations International Organisations at CERN, Princip
