Archive · 16 Sep 2026
IIT Hyderabad Students Win Excellence Award in Taiwan
Four young students from IIT Hyderabad won a science competition in Taiwan.
They were the only Indian team among 20 finalists from 267 applications.
Their project showed how to make very thin semiconductor layers called perovskite films.
They made the films in open air, even when the air was more than 60 percent humid.
They also worked at a temperature of 70°C.
These materials can be used in solar cells and LEDs.
The students worked with Pavakah Energy and were guided by Dr Ashish Kulkarni.
They received an Excellence Award and a cash prize of ₹1.5 lakh.
Four first-year BTech students from IIT Hyderabad won the Excellence Award at the TECO International Contest 2026 in Taiwan.
The team was the only Indian finalist among 20 global teams selected from 267 applications.
They demonstrated the formation of perovskite thin films under open-air, high-humidity conditions at 70°C.
The project explored simpler fabrication of ultra-thin semiconductor layers for potential perovskite solar technologies.
The award includes a ₹1.5 lakh cash prize, and the students were supervised by Dr Ashish Kulkarni.
- Who
- Four first-year BTech students of the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad—Mahak Gadia, Raqi Mohammad, Udit Maini and Yug Nikesh Gandhi—supervised by Dr Ashish Kulkarni.
- What
- They won the Excellence Award at the TECO International Contest 2026 for demonstrating the formation of perovskite thin films.
- When
- At the TECO International Contest 2026; the articles do not provide specific contest dates.
- Where
- National Taiwan University in Taiwan.
- Why
- Their project aimed to simplify the fabrication of perovskite layers under realistic, open-air conditions for possible scalable solar-technology manufacturing.
- Award
- Excellence Award
- Competition
- TECO International Contest 2026
- Finalist selection
- The only Indian team among 20 global finalists selected from 267 applications
- Demonstration conditions
- Open air, relative humidity above 60%, and 70°C
- Demonstration scale
- A 25 cm² mini-module
- Prize
- ₹1.5 lakh cash award
- Project partners
- Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad and Pavakah Energy