Title: 2000+ Meritorious Students from UP, Bihar, and Jharkhand Felicitated During the Two-Day CU UP Scholars’ Summit 2026

There is a particular kind of energy that fills a room when students realise they are not just being accepted - they are being celebrated. The CU UP Scholars' Summit 2026 - Recognising Merit, Excellence & Achievement event, hosted at the Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh campus, ran on exactly that energy for two full days.

Students who took CUCET  (the Chandigarh University Common Entrance Test), earned great scholarships, & many of them went on to avail up to 100 per cent of the tuition fees. At the summit, they came because CU UP invited them to be recognised. 2000+  of them, from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, accepted that invitation.

The Numbers Behind the Moment:

The Rs.50 crore scholarship initiative by Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh for the 2026-27 academic session was not a headline figure - it was a commitment made real. The summit was the institution's way of completing that commitment in person. More than 1,000 engineering students were honoured on day one alone by the Honorable Chief Guest Shri Asim Arun, Ex-IPS, Minister of State (Independent Charge) - Department of Social Welfare & SC/ST Welfare, UP. By the time the closing session wrapped,  2000 + young scholars had walked across a stage that was built specifically for them.

A Gathering That Commanded Attention:

The concluding day brought together exactly the kind of people a student needs to see when they are about to begin the most consequential chapter of their life.

Shri Yogendra Upadhyay, Minister of Higher Education, Uttar Pradesh, took the stage as Chief Guest. Satnam Singh Sandhu, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha and Chancellor, Chandigarh University; Prof. (Dr.) Vinith Kumar Nair, Vice-Chancellor, Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh; and Prof. (Dr.) T.P. Singh, Pro Vice-Chancellor, were present alongside a remarkable set of industry voices.

Mr. Aman Gupta (Co-founder of boAt and Founder of Off/Beat), Dr. Shailesh Kumar, (EVP and Chief Data Scientist, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited), Ms. Aswathy Venugopal (Senior Director, Cognizant Technology Solutions), Mr. Arpit Trivedi (Senior Vice President, Hitachi Systems India Private Limited), Ms. Aparajita (Government Advisory on Climate Change & Sustainable Development and Public Policy at StartInUP), Ms. Radhika Pant (Group CHRO, Shyam Spectra Pvt. Ltd.), Mr. Hardeep Singh Bhamrah (AGM HR, HCL Technologies Ltd.), actor and singer Mr. Aparshakti Khurana and celebrated singer Ms. Asees Kaur - together, brought something no curriculum can replicate: perspective from the other side of the journey.

The Message From the Industry Floor:

Across sessions covering AI, digital infrastructure, and enterprise technology, the industry speakers converged on a single honest point - the degree is the door. What you do with it depends entirely on the skills you bring to the threshold. The conversation around AI was particularly sharp: within five years, every major sector will have been reshaped by it. The students in that room who begin building relevant capabilities now are not hedging their bets. They are investing in the most certain return available.

Shri Yogendra Upadhyay: Building the Country, One Campus at a Time

Minister Shri Yogendra Upadhyay arrived at the summit and found a campus that gave him something to respond to.

"This is not merely a university, but a remarkable institution dedicated to identifying talent, nurturing it and preparing young minds for nation building," he said. He pointed to student innovations on display - including a concept for generating electricity through footprints - as concrete proof that CU UP's approach to education goes far deeper than what happens in a lecture hall.

He connected the university's efforts directly to the National Education Policy 2020, and to a broader idea of national service. "Patriotism is not confined to protecting the country's borders; it also means contributing to national progress through knowledge, innovation and meaningful work," he noted. He also acknowledged Uttar Pradesh's growing stature as a higher education destination - and the role CU UP is playing in making that a reality.

Shri Satnam Singh Sandhu: On Scholarship:

For Chancellor Shri Satnam Singh Sandhu, the scholarship program is not a gesture. It is a structural decision.

"Our scholarship initiative has been launched to ensure that no deserving student is forced to compromise on his or her aspirations due to financial constraints," he said. Behind every student in that room is a family that has invested belief for years. The scholarship is an institution investing back.

He also looked forward to Gen Z students; he said, they are the most globally oriented generation in Indian history. AI is already part of their environment - and it is accelerating. "The coming years will witness technology becoming powerful enough to enable individuals to achieve what once required entire organisations," he observed. CU UP - India's first AI-Augmented Multidisciplinary University - is not waiting for that future to arrive. It is being designed around it.

What One Year Looks Like When You Mean It.

CU UP has been operational for one year. The CU UP Scholars' Summit 2026 event proved this by felicitating 2000+ students through a ?50 crore scholarships initiative that the typical footprint of the CU UP campus is all an aspiring student needs. 

It is a statement of intent, backed by action. For students from across UP, Bihar, and Jharkhand who have spent years hoping their effort would find the right platform, this campus is that platform. The summit proved it - not with promises, but with a stage, a name called out loud, and a room full of people who showed up to witness it.

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