In Practice
From Workshop to National Stage
How two students turned a classroom idea into a nationally recognised solution — and what it reveals about what structured mentorship can produce.
The Workshop
Where it started
Kaushik and Rana, students at SPR School of Excellence, joined an ICORG innovation workshop at their school. The idea was simple — spot a real problem around you, think through how it could be solved, and actually build a working version using digital tools. By the end, students weren't just presenting ideas on slides. They had something that worked.
The Problem
A gap in urban waste management
While exploring problems in their city, Kaushik and Rana noticed something: garbage bins overflow and nobody reports them for days. Solutions exist — sensors, smart bins — but they're expensive. Most cities can't afford to put sensors on every bin. The real question was simpler: how do you report a full bin without any special hardware?
The Solution
SmartBin QR
They developed SmartBin QR — a low-cost, sensor-free system that uses unique QR codes placed on public waste bins. Citizens scan a QR code to report a bin's status. Each report is stored in the cloud with GPS coordinates and timestamped data, then visualised on a mapping dashboard that municipal teams can use to prioritise collection routes.
No expensive hardware. No complex setup. Just a QR code, a smartphone, and a simple system behind it.
View the prototype the students builtThe Competition
National recognition at IIT Tirupati
Their prototype was selected for the national-level "Space Technologies and Applications: Earth and Beyond 2025" ideathon, organised by IIT Tirupati's Navavishkar I-Hub Foundation and ISRO, celebrating National Space Day 2025.
Competing against teams from across the country, Kaushik and Rana secured 2nd Place in the Schools category. A classroom idea, built during a workshop, validated at the national stage.
Kaushik and Rana receiving their award at the national-level ideathon.
The full team from SPR School of Excellence at IIT Tirupati.
The Impact
From classroom to newspaper
The story was covered in regional media. SPR School of Excellence used it as a mark of institutional achievement — proof that their students can compete at the highest levels. A workshop idea became a nationally recognised solution, and the school made sure everyone knew it.
Regional media coverage of the students' national-level achievement.
This is what structured mentorship looks like.
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