Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh (CU UP) turned its campus into a stage for two days, honouring over 2,000 scholarship students from UP, Bihar and Jharkhand. The Scholars' Summit 2026 – Recognising Merit, Excellence & Achievement marked the rollout of the institution's INR 50 crore scholarship programme for 2026-27. What stands out is the timing: CU UP is barely a year old.

Key Highlights of the Summit

The table below highlights the key achievements, participation figures, and scholarship initiatives announced during Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh's Scholars' Summit 2026.

By the time the summit wrapped up, each of those 2,000-plus names had been called out on a stage built specifically for them.

Day 1 Highlights

• Chief Guest: Shri Asim Arun, Ex-IPS, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Social Welfare & SC/ST Welfare, UP
• 1,000+ engineering students were honoured on stage

Day 2: Dignitaries Present

The closing day brought government, academia and industry into the same room — the kind of crowd a student needs in front of them before starting the next chapter.

Government & Academia

• Shri Yogendra Upadhyay — Minister of Higher Education, UP (Chief Guest)
• Satnam Singh Sandhu — MP, Rajya Sabha; Chancellor, Chandigarh University
• Prof. (Dr.) Vinith Kumar Nair — Vice-Chancellor, CU UP
• Prof. (Dr.) T.P. Singh — Pro Vice-Chancellor

Industry Leaders

• Aman Gupta — Co-founder, boAt; Founder, Off/Beat
• Dr. Shailesh Kumar — EVP & Chief Data Scientist, Reliance Jio Infocomm
• Aswathy Venugopal — Senior Director, Cognizant Technology Solutions
• Arpit Trivedi — Senior VP, Hitachi Systems India
• Aparajita — Govt. Advisory, Climate Change & Public Policy, StartInUP
• Radhika Pant — Group CHRO, Shyam Spectra
• Hardeep Singh Bhamrah — AGM HR, HCL Technologies

Entertainment

• Aparshakti Khurana — Actor & Singer
• Asees Kaur — Singer

No classroom lecture replaces what these guests brought to the room: a firsthand look at what comes after graduation.

Key Themes Discussed

Talks on AI, digital infrastructure and enterprise tech all pointed to the same idea — a degree gets you through the door, but skills decide what happens once you're inside.

• A degree opens the door; skills decide what's next
• Industry shifts driven by AI are expected within five years across major sectors
• Students were urged to build AI-relevant skills now, ahead of the curve rather than chasing it later

What the Leaders Said

Shri Yogendra Upadhyay, Minister of Higher Education, UP, didn't mince words about the campus:

• Called CU UP a serious player in nation-building, not "merely a university"
• Pointed to student innovations on display, including a footstep-based electricity concept
• Connected CU UP's approach to the National Education Policy 2020
• Described contribution through knowledge and innovation as a form of patriotism
• Noted UP's growing reputation as a higher-education destination

Satnam Singh Sandhu, Chancellor of Chandigarh University, framed the scholarship programme as a structural choice, not a gesture:

• Said it ensures no deserving student compromises on ambition over money
• Called Gen Z India's most globally connected generation so far
• Predicted AI will soon let individuals achieve what once needed entire organisations
• Positioned CU UP as India's first AI-Augmented Multidisciplinary University

The Bigger Picture

CU UP has been operational for just one year. Felicitating over 2,000 scholars through a ₹50 crore programme this early says a fair bit about its intentions.

• The summit showed the scholarship commitment is being delivered, not just promised
• For students from UP, Bihar and Jharkhand, it marked a platform finally catching up with years of effort

Admissions Open: 2026-27

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