Omkar Manik Jadhav, a fourth-year B.Tech. Aerospace Engineering student at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram, has secured the First Runner-Up position at the National Finals of the 10th edition of the IET India Scholarship Award 2026, winning a prize award of ₹3,00,000. The achievement places him among the top two performers in the national competition, which witnessed participation from 48,761 undergraduate engineering students across India.

The IET India Scholarship Award is a national-level initiative that recognises outstanding engineering students for their technical knowledge, innovation, problem-solving abilities and potential to address real-world challenges. Following a multi-stage selection process, Omkar secured first place in the South 2 Regional Round held on 5 September 2026, earning a prize of ₹1,00,000 and qualifying for the National Finals.

The National Finals, held on 26 September 2026, brought together five regional winners representing different parts of the country. Each finalist was required to present a working prototype of their proposed solution, developed in response to a distinct problem statement assigned during the preceding round. The finalists presented their prototypes before a national jury, demonstrating the practical applicability, technical depth and innovative potential of their respective solutions.

Representing IIST, Omkar presented "Forest Sentinel", an innovative forest threat detection system designed to facilitate the early identification of forest fires and illegal logging activities. The proposed solution consists of a network of small, low-cost and low-power devices equipped with onboard sensors that can locally identify potential threats and anomalies. These devices are designed to transmit alerts directly to a satellite, which can relay the information to a designated base camp. The system aims to enable effective monitoring of large and remote forest regions, where conventional surveillance methods can be challenging to implement.

At the conclusion of the competition, Omkar was declared the First Runner-Up nationally, securing the second position among the five finalists. The award was presented by Ms. Kavitha Rajan, Vice President – Sales (India and South Asia) at ADP India Private Limited, in the presence of distinguished industry representatives and senior members of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

This accomplishment marks a significant milestone in Omkar's academic and innovation journey, recognizing his ability to translate engineering concepts into practical technology solutions addressing environmental challenges. His achievement brings further recognition to IIST and highlights the institute's continued contribution towards nurturing technically capable and innovation-driven engineering graduates.