IEEE YESIST12 2026 – IEngage Track

The IEEE YESIST12 IEngage Track is a globally recognized, industry-driven innovation challenge that bridges the gap between academia and real-world industry. As part of the prestigious IEEE YESIST12 — Age of Innovation platform, the IEngage Track places industry at the very heart of the innovation journey, encouraging students and young professionals to engage with authentic, industry-curated problem statements and develop solutions that address real market and societal needs. Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), the track focuses on advancing resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering cutting-edge technological innovation across domains. Mode of Conduct: This opportunity is conducted fully online. All abstract and project submissions are made through the official IEEE YESIST12 portal (ieeeyesist12.org). Preliminary evaluations and the Grand Finale presentations are conducted virtually via the IEEE YESIST12 platform. What is the IEngage Track? IEngage is not just a competition — it is a complete innovation ecosystem built on four foundational pillars: Career Building, Industry Skills Development, Start-up & Entrepreneurship Development, and Industry Mentorship. The track is designed to nurture industry-ready innovators, foster meaningful collaboration, and drive purpose-driven innovation with measurable industrial and societal impact. Selected teams, alongside prizes, receive structured guidance from industry professionals through dedicated mentorship cycles, technical sessions, and expert interactions — making the experience far beyond a typical hackathon or academic project. Industry Problem Statements Participants choose from real-world, industry-defined problem statements released by leading companies. The current edition features challenges from Capgemini and Tristha: Capgemini Problem Statements: AI-Driven Cloud Ops — Build proactive anomaly detection and self-healing cloud systems to reduce MTTD and MTTR across multi-cloud, microservices, and containerized environments. Quantum-Safe Finance — Design a hybrid classical-quantum security architecture to protect financial systems from emerging quantum threats, including Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) evaluation and a phased migration roadmap. Smart E-Waste Platform — Develop a sustainable, end-to-end digital e-waste tracking and recovery platform for India with EPR compliance and real-time analytics. Tristha Problem Statements: AI-Assisted Ticket Classification — Build an intelligent system that classifies support tickets, estimates urgency, and drafts grounded, policy-aligned responses. AI-Based Duplicate Bug Detection — Develop a system using DBSCAN clustering to detect duplicate defect reports, assign cluster IDs, and generate improved defect summaries. Grounded Question Answering over Enterprise Documents — Build a RAG-based Q&A bot that ingests enterprise documents and generates citation-backed answers strictly grounded in approved content. Topics & Focus Areas: Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning — Deep Learning, NLP, Computer Vision, AI in real-world problem solving Cloud Computing & DevOps — AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code Cybersecurity — Ethical hacking, network security, penetration testing, incident response Data Science & Analytics — Data visualization, statistical modeling, Big Data, Business Intelligence Entrepreneurship & Startup Development — Business model canvas, pitch decks, funding strategies, product-market fit Soft Skills & Professional Development — Communication, leadership, time management, interview preparation Who Can Participate? The IEngage Track is open to: Undergraduates — Students currently pursuing undergraduate degrees Postgraduates — Students pursuing master's or doctoral programs Young Professionals — Early-career professionals seeking real industry exposure Team Requirements: Teams must consist of a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 members Teams can be from the same institution or multi-institutional collaborations A mandatory mentor (Faculty, Industry Professional, or IEEE Member) must be assigned to each team Selection Process The selection follows a two-stage fully online process: Stage 1 — Abstracts & Prelims: Participants enter via Direct Entry (abstract evaluated online by reviewers) or Pilot Entry (preliminary round conducted virtually by IEEE Sections or partner institutions, with winners advancing to finals). Stage 2 — Grand Finale: Shortlisted teams present their solutions virtually before an expert jury, evaluated on novelty, technical implementation, clarity of pitch, and expandability of the idea. Why Should You Participate? Work on real, industry-defined challenges that go beyond routine academic projects Get mentored by experienced industry professionals and domain researchers Develop hands-on skills in ideation, solution design, feasibility analysis, and professional presentation Compete with high-performing teams from across the globe Present your solution at an internationally recognized IEEE event Earn IEEE-recognized certificates, awards, and international recognition Connect with industry leaders and open doors to internships and career collaborations Be part of a unique innovation journey that blends competition, mentorship, learning, and real-world impact Rules for Participation: All participants must register through the official IEEE YESIST12 portal (ieeeyesist12.org) Regular attendance at online workshops and sessions is mandatory for certification All assignments and tasks must be completed within given deadlines Participants must adhere to the IEEE Code of Conduct at all times Plagiarism is strictly prohibited in all submissions The IEngage Track is your opportunity to step beyond the classroom, prove your skills on a global stage, and make a real impact through innovation. Whether you're solving AI challenges, designing secure financial systems, or building sustainable platforms — IEngage gives you the tools, mentorship, and platform to turn your ideas into industry-ready solutions. All rounds are conducted fully online via ieeeyesist12.org