Indian Student Wins Massive $100K in U.S.

An Indian student turned entrepreneur has won $100,000 at the MIT entrepreneurship competition for his solar energy project.

Shiv Bhakta, a dual-degree MS/MBA student at MIT is the founder of Active Surfaces along with Richard Swartwout. Their company develops solar cells that can be deployed on any surface which is not possible with traditional solar installments.

Shiv got his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and had a comfortable job. But eventually his interest shifted towards climate change and he went to MIT to use his knowledge regarding energy sources to address this issue.

Their innovation also won an additional $10,000 from the audience choice award at the same competition.

Shiv’s family, who hailed from a village in Gujarat, moved to the USA even before he was born. His parents had been involved in small businesses and that’s where he found his interest in entrepreneurship. He spent his weekends working on his family’s business.

Shiv Bhakta and his company aims to make solar energy accessible and affordable. His innovation not only makes the setup cheaper but also reduces the cost of installation one has to bear. These solar cells are not like panels but they’re printed and they weigh one hundredth of traditional solar panels.