HS Foundation, in association with Blockchain For Impact (BFI), organised a research and innovation capacity-building programme at FITT IIT Delhi, aimed at strengthening innovation ecosystems in tier-2 and tier-3 districts of India.  The programme brought together 63 faculty members from 35 educational institutions, representing 25 tier 2 and tier 3 districts of India and a diverse spectrum of academia, including engineering, medical, ayurvedic, veterinary, legal, and management colleges. Faculty participants came from cities such as Lucknow, Meerut, Mathura, Moradabad, Saharanpur, and Bulandshahr, along with institutions from the Delhi NCR region.  The programme was designed to reach out to over 1.35 lakh graduate and post-graduate students through their college faculty. Hosted within IIT Delhi’s innovation and technology-transfer ecosystem, the three-day residential programme exposed participants to structured approaches for identifying real-world problems, faculty-led entrepreneurship, funding and incubation pathways, intellectual property management, and technology transfer, complemented by hands-on exercises and pitching sessions. Commenting on the initiative, Ashish Dhar Dwivedi, Managing Trustee, HS Foundation, said, “Innovation in India must move beyond a few urban centres. By empowering faculty across disciplines and regions, we are laying the foundation for sustainable research and entrepreneurship ecosystems in Uttar Pradesh.”