Thinking Sprint • Your Gateway to ART Park @ IISc

A Collaboration between ARC Net and REON Skills

Thinking Sprint: Your Gateway to ART Park @ IISc

Take your early-stage idea—hypothesis, thesis, or concept—and turn it into a proof-of-concept (PoC) with a defined road to market. ARC-Net is an idea incubatory and entrepreneurship grooming institution for early-stage science and engineering ideas.

Zero-to-One: Idea Incubator (not a typical accelerator)
No Minimum TRL Required
6–12 Months Support for Selected Teams
Mentorship from IISc Ecosystem

About the Program

This program at ARTPARK, IISc supports students and researchers with entrepreneurial intent to move from early-stage ideas to a PoC with a clear road to market. ARC-Net focuses on nurturing builders in domains where India needs more indigenous invention and venture creation.

The Mission

Strengthening India’s STEM entrepreneurship ecosystem by nurturing foundational innovators.

The Opportunity

A gateway for students to take early-stage ideas—even at the hypothesis or research stage—and build a road to market.

The Pivot Point

REON Skills functions as the strategic channel partner and assessment engine for ARC-Net.

The ARC-Net Advantage

Unlike traditional accelerators, ARC-Net is an Idea Incubator focused on the Zero-to-One journey.

No Minimum TRL Required

Ideas at research, concept, or hypothesis stage are welcome—your thesis can become a startup.

6–12 Months of Support

Selected teams receive structured guidance, stipends, and access to advanced resources.

High-Touch Mentorship

Direct access to IISc professor ecosystem and extended founder networks.

Zero-to-One Workshops

Curated sessions with distinguished domain experts to build from first principles.

Target Technical Domains

We are seeking builders in high-impact deep-tech sectors:

Artificial Intelligence

Foundational AI models, novel architectures, and Edge AI.

Autonomous Systems

Robotics, drones, and autonomous vehicles.

Engineering

Advanced data engineering and product engineering.

The Selection Funnel: The “Thinking Sprint”

To identify the brightest innovators, we use a two-phase selection process.

1

Phase 1: Multi-tier Screening

Assessing reasoning ability, technical depth, and ownership mindset.

2

Phase 2: One-Day Thinking Sprint

Hackathon-style selection event at ARTGarage (ARTPARK @ IISc).

ARC-Net is not positioned as a typical “industry–academia collaboration” program. It’s an idea incubator for early-stage science & engineering innovation.

Who Should Apply?

We are selecting for two roles in the cohort:

Category A: Project Lead (Founder)

• Brings a technically grounded problem statement (often from a thesis).
• Demonstrates entrepreneurial intent and leadership mindset.

Category B: Team Member (Builder)

• Strong technical capability & motivation to join an early-stage venture.
• High agency, reliability, and readiness to collaborate on a founding team.

Eligibility: Primarily 3rd & 4th-year undergraduates from Engineering, Product Design, or Pure Science backgrounds.

The Journey Forward

Post-selection, teams enter a high-accountability environment to build a robust MVP/PoC.

Funding

Stipend support to enable focused execution.

Resources

Access to world-class equipment and resource enablement.

Launchpad

A structured path from MVP to fundraising or full incubation.