Futura '26 Designathon | DesignX, Rishihood University — ₹30,000 Prize Pool

Futura '26 is the flagship overnight designathon from DesignX, the multi-domain design festival of Rishihood University. Student teams drawn from colleges anywhere in India get one night to take a freshly revealed brief and turn it into a researched, prototyped, pitch-ready concept.

The working window is deliberately tight: 12 hours, entirely on campus. Registration shuts on 16 April 2026. The brief is emailed to registered teams at 7:00 PM on 17 April 2026, the designathon formally opens at 10:00 PM that same night, and solutions must be filed through the official Google Form by 10:00 AM on 18 April 2026. Live presentations to an expert judging panel follow immediately after the cutoff.

There is no equity, no repayment and no investment angle here — prize money is awarded purely for the competition result. Teams are competing for a ₹30,000 cash pool plus a set of non-cash rewards that every registered participant receives, whether or not they place.

Interdisciplinary squads are welcome. If your strengths lie in visual design, interface design, development, research or strategy, you can enter — as long as your team has 2 to 4 members. Everything you present has to be your own original work, produced during the event itself, and everyone must be physically present at the Sonipat campus.

• 12-hour overnight designathon hosted by DesignX at Rishihood University, Sonipat
• ₹30,000 cash prize pool split between top finishers and special category winners
• Open to college students across India, any discipline; teams of 2 to 4 members
• Registration closes 16 April 2026; brief released 7:00 PM on 17 April 2026
• Every registered participant gets 6 months of Canva Pro (worth ₹2,000) plus TruScholar Smart Credential Wallet access
• Fully onsite event at the Sonipat campus — no remote or hybrid participation

Any student enrolled in a college in India can enter Futura '26, from any discipline or academic background. There is no restriction to design majors — developers, researchers and strategists are equally welcome.

• Team size: between 2 and 4 members per team.
• Student status: this is a competition for college students, not for working professionals or registered companies.
• Attendance: you have to be physically present at Rishihood University, Sonipat, Haryana. No remote or hybrid track is offered.
• Original work: every deliverable must be created by your team during the designathon and must be your own.
• No DPIIT or MSME requirement: those registrations belong to startup funding schemes, not to this student design competition.

Futura '26 Designathon | DesignX, Rishihood University — ₹30,000 Prize Pool is open to startups at any stage. It is open to startups registered anywhere in India.

The most recent application window for Futura '26 Designathon | DesignX, Rishihood University — ₹30,000 Prize Pool closed on 16 Apr 2026. Many programmes run repeat cohorts, so it is worth checking the official site for the next round.

Futura '26 is a prize-based competition, so the rewards arrive as cash and perks rather than as a grant, loan or equity investment.

• Cash prize pool: ₹30,000, shared between the top winners and the winners of special categories.
• A 6-month Canva Pro subscription, worth ₹2,000, for every registered participant — not just the winning teams.
• Access to the TruScholar Smart Credential Wallet, which bundles an AI-powered Career Coach, an AI-based interview preparation tool, TruResume (an ATS-friendly AI resume builder) and a built-in job and internship portal.
• Certificates and DesignX goodies for the winning teams.

Nothing here is dilutive: the prize money is a reward for the competition outcome and carries no equity stake or repayment obligation.

Futura '26 runs as one continuous overnight cycle rather than a multi-round application funnel.

1. Registration — teams sign up through the official Unstop event page before the 16 April 2026 deadline.
2. Brief reveal — the problem statement lands in registered teams' inboxes at 7:00 PM on 17 April 2026.
3. Sprint opens — the designathon formally begins at 10:00 PM on 17 April 2026 and the clock starts on the 12-hour window.
4. Submission — teams file their final solutions through the official Google Form by 10:00 AM on 18 April 2026.
5. Presentations and judging — straight after the cutoff, teams pitch their work in person to an expert judging panel, which decides the winners of the cash pool and the special categories.

Before you apply to Futura '26 Designathon | DesignX, Rishihood University — ₹30,000 Prize Pool, keep the following documents ready:

• A pitch deck or short business plan describing the problem, product and traction
• Company registration documents and PAN
• Founder identification (PAN / Aadhaar) and brief profiles
• Recent financial statements or projections
• Product details — a demo, prototype or working link if available

Exact requirements are confirmed on the official application portal — treat this as a preparation checklist.

Futura '26 Designathon | DesignX, Rishihood University — ₹30,000 Prize Pool is best suited for startups in India seeking non-dilutive funding of ₹30,000. If that describes your startup, review the eligibility criteria above before applying.