इश्क़Ishqlove · passion · devotion
Made With Ishq Fellowship
Buildsomethingreal.
A free fellowship for students who want to use AI to turn an idea or a problem into something people can actually use. We pay for the tools. You build.
0 fee · 0% equityYour work stays yours
Applications open on 15 November 2026.
01 — Why this exists
Talent is everywhere. Access isn't.
One motivated student with the right AI tools can now build what used to take a whole team.
But those tools cost money. A student in a small town near Lucknow has the same ideas as a student in Bengaluru, and far less to work with.
The Made With Ishq Fellowship exists to close that gap.
02 — What we believe
- Problems over pitch decks.
- Shipping over certificates.
- Curiosity over credentials.
- Users over judges.
- AI is leverage.
- Cost shouldn't decide who gets to build.
03 — How we build
Use AI aggressively.
Fellows use the best AI tools available to research, design, write code and ship. We don't count how much of the code you typed yourself.
We care that you:
- understand the problem you chose
- can explain every decision in what you built
- ship early and put it in front of people
- change it based on what they do
- Idea
- Research
- Prototype
- Ship
- Users
- Feedback
- Again
04 — What you get
Everything around the builder.
- 01
AI tools, paid for
A paid seat on a leading AI coding tool for the length of the cohort.
- 02
A weekly review
One live session every week. You show what you shipped and leave knowing what to do next.
- 03
A small room of builders
A small cohort, split into pods who help each other between sessions.
- 04
Your own domain at launch
When your project is ready for users, we pay for the first year of its domain, registered in your name.
- 05
A public page for your work
Your project and your name on this site, for as long as you want them there.
- 06
A place in what comes next
The group doesn't close when the cohort does. Fellows stay, and the next cohort learns from them.
05 — The deal
No fee. No equity. No catch.
- Application fee
- 0
- Program fee
- 0
- Equity
- 0%
- Your work
- 100%
The Fellowship takes no ownership in what you create. Your code, your idea and your company stay yours.
There is no stipend and no prize money. We pay for tools, not salaries.
06 — Who should apply
We're looking for builders, not résumés.
I have something I want to build.
For people already working on a problem, a product or an idea.
I want to build, but I haven't found the problem yet.
For curious people who start things and want to find a problem worth their time.
Both join the same Fellowship.
What we look at
- What you've made happen so far, however small
- How you think about a problem
- Whether you finish things
What we don't look at
- Your college's rank
- Your marks
- Your English
If two applicants are equally strong, the place goes to the one for whom the cost of tools is the bigger barrier.
Who can apply to this cohort
- 18 or older
- In college, or graduated within the last year. Any stream, any college.
- Living in India
- Able to use a laptop or desktop and the internet regularly. Your own, a family member's or your college lab's all count.
- Free for one live session a week for 12 weeks, with time of your own to build.
Hindi, English or a mix: apply and take part in whichever you think in.
07 — How selection works
Four steps. No résumé.
- 01
Apply
Tell us who you are, what you've made happen and what you want to work on. It is short, and you can write in Hindi or English.
- 02
Build
Shortlisted applicants get a small build challenge: one week, any tools, something that works.
- 03
Talk
We speak with the strongest builders for a few minutes each.
- 04
Join
The selected builders join the cohort.
- No marks cutoff.
- No college ranking.
- No résumé screening.
08 — How the Fellowship works
Build. Ship. Learn. Repeat.
- 01
Discover
Find a real problem worth understanding.
- 02
Validate
Talk to the people who have it.
- 03
Build
Make the smallest useful version.
- 04
Ship
Put it in front of users.
- 05
Learn
Watch what they do.
- 06
Improve
Change it using what you saw.
- 07
Share
Show the cohort what happened.
Every week
You write a short update: what you shipped, who used it, what you learned and where you are stuck. Your pod reads it. Then the cohort meets for one live session. Everything else is your own time, and the building takes real time every week.
09 — Current cohort
Cohort 01
- 10 Fellows
- 12 weeks
- Online, run from Lucknow
Applications open on 15 November 2026.
- Applications open
- 15 November 2026
- Applications close
- 14 December 2026
- Build challenge
- 18–24 December 2026
- Cohort begins
- January 2027
10 — Who is behind this
One person, for now.
I'm Arqum Beg, and I grew up near Lucknow. I'm starting the Made With Ishq Fellowship because a student with a good idea no longer needs a team or funding to begin; the tools now do much of that work.
But the tools cost money, and many students from small towns and villages around Lucknow can't pay for them. So I pay for the tools, and I show up every week.
There is no company or investor behind this yet. It is one person's money and time. I want Lucknow to be known for what its students build.
Arqum Beg, founderarqumbeg.com
11 — Questions
Common questions
Why is it free? What is the catch?
There isn't one. The Fellowship is paid for by its founder, and sponsors may join later. It charges no fee and takes no equity. In future, Made With Ishq may start a separate program that invests in companies built by former Fellows. That would be optional, and joining the Fellowship creates no obligation to take part.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. You need to be willing to learn fast and to build with AI tools.
Do I need a startup idea?
No. You need curiosity and some proof that you start things.
Do I need to be an engineering student?
No. Any stream, any college.
Do I need my own laptop?
You need regular access to a laptop or desktop and the internet. It can be your own, a family member's or your college lab's. We pay for software, not hardware.
Can I apply in Hindi?
Yes. Apply, write your updates and speak in sessions in Hindi, English or a mix.
Do Fellows get paid?
No. There is no stipend and no prize. We pay for the AI tools you build with, and for a domain when your project is ready to launch.
Does the Made With Ishq Fellowship take equity?
No. 0%.
Who owns what I build?
You do. All of it.
How much time does it take?
One live session a week for 12 weeks. The building happens on your own time, and it takes real time every week.
Is it online?
Yes. Sessions are online, and you can join from anywhere in India. The Fellowship is run from Lucknow.
Will I get a certificate?
The Fellowship is about what you build, not a certificate. Your page on this site, with your project on it, is the record that you were a Fellow.
Is this an internship or a job?
No.
What happens to my application if I'm not selected?
We keep it, so you can apply again without starting over and so we can tell you when the next cohort opens. You can ask us to delete it at any time.
What happens after the Fellowship?
You stay in the Fellows group, your project page stays up, and you can help the next cohort.
What would you build if access wasn't the constraint?
We're looking for people who care enough to try.
Applications open on 15 November 2026.