Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) Dubai launched CREATE at MAHE Dubai, its new year-round student innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, at the Manipal Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conclave 2026 that took place earlier this month.
The two-day conclave was held at the university’s Dubai campus as part of Founders’ Day celebrations honouring Dr. Ramdas M. Pai, Chancellor, MAHE.
The conclave gave students an opportunity to work on real-world problems and develop ideas through a Problem Identification Challenge, Entrepreneurship Simulation Competition, Innovation Hackathon and Seed Fund Pitch Presentation. Shortlisted teams were also given access to milestone-based seed funding.
Viable venture
CREATE at MAHE Dubai will extend this experience throughout the academic year through four stages, each designed to move an idea closer to becoming a viable venture. Students begin with Ideathon, where they identify problems and develop potential solutions, before moving to Innovathon to assess feasibility, validate their ideas with customers and develop a business model.
EntreHack focuses on building a prototype or minimum viable product and preparing for the pitch stage, while Inspirethon takes promising projects into incubation, industry engagement, funding opportunities and market launch. Projects will progress through five stage gates: selection, pre-incubation, incubation, acceleration and graduation.
“CREATE at MAHE Dubai gives our students a practical route for turning an idea into a venture. We want students to leave the university with the confidence to pursue problems worth solving and the ability to take their ideas forward,” asserted Dr. S. Sudhindra, Pro Vice Chancellor, MAHE Dubai.
Providing support
The Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) will provide support throughout the year through design-thinking workshops, innovation challenges, market-validation sessions, mentoring, prototype development, pitch preparation, investor-readiness activities and intellectual property support.
An advisory board comprising deans representing the university’s schools, entrepreneur alumni and industry mentors will guide the Centre.
“Through the CIE, students will have access to mentors and industry experts who can bring practical perspectives to their work and help them build solutions with real market potential,” observed Dr. Praveen Kumar Tamilselvan, Head of Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE), MAHE Dubai.
The CIE facility will provide dedicated spaces for different stages of the journey, including a Creativity Zone, Innovation Lab, Mentor and Pitch Zone, and Startup Incubation Zone.
“We want innovation to feel like a natural part of university life, where students have the opportunity to explore an idea whenever inspiration strikes,” concluded Dr. Chythanya Krishnan, Coordinator, Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE), MAHE Dubai.
