Student FirstAAU's flagship student-entrepreneurship program - turning job-seekers into job creators
A flagship program by Assam Agricultural University, run with NEATEHUB, to build student entrepreneurship. It starts with BSc 2nd-year students and runs every year, so students are better prepared to build by their 3rd and 4th year. An exclusive Business Plan (B-plan) competitionthat inspires, grooms, and trains undergraduates to become founders.
Job creators, not job-seekers.
Student First is designed to inspire, groom, and train AAU undergraduates to pursue entrepreneurship in agriculture and allied fields - reaching young students with innovative ideas early, and giving them the tools, mentorship, and infrastructure to build real ventures while they're still on campus.
A rigorous path, start to finish.
Student First follows a strict, staged process - from a psychometric test in the second year, through months of training, to a stage-lit final. Every step filters for the founders most ready to build.
Apply + psychometric test
BSc 2nd-year students apply and take a psychometric test that gauges entrepreneurial aptitude, risk appetite, and mindset.
Screening
Students are screened on their test results - the ones with the strongest founder instincts move ahead.
4-month course
Selected students go through a four-month course on entrepreneurship and startups, taught by industry experts and startup founders.
Pitch to FIESC
They present to the FIESC - a faculty-level screening committee that decides who advances.
Grooming at NEATEHUB
Shortlisted students are groomed at NEATEHUB - pitching, pitch decks, and sharpening the business plan.
The Student First Challenge
The final 10 pitch on stage to a stellar jury, in a packed auditorium with live performances. Winners take home up to ₹1 lakh in cash prizes.
Incubation for the top 3
The top three receive further incubation and support at NEATEHUB to turn the plan into a real venture.
The Student First Challenge.
By the finale, ten students remain. They pitch in a packed auditorium, in front of a stellar jury, with artists performing between rounds - the one night the whole program builds toward. Winners walk away with up to ₹1 lakh in cash prizes, and the top three carry on into incubation at NEATEHUB.
From workshop to prototype to grant.
Selected students get more than a competition - they get the workshops, infrastructure, and funding to actually build.
Business-model workshops
Hands-on sessions to shape an idea into a real, testable business model.
Prototyping infrastructure
Access to advanced facilities - fabrication and robotics labs - to build and test.
Grant funding
Potential grant funding to take the best ideas beyond the classroom.
Incubation & mentorship
The top finishers are incubated and mentored by the NEATEHUB team.
From last edition.
Scenes from Student First - the workshops, the finale, and the students building while still on campus.
Second-year at AAU with an idea? Student First is for you.
The second edition is underway. If you're a BSc second-year student at Assam Agricultural University, this is your route from idea to a funded, incubated venture - while you're still on campus.
Starts with BSc second-year students and runs every year, so they're ready to build by their third and fourth year.