1. Legal and Intellectual Property Framework
1.1 Student Ownership of Projects
All intellectual property rights in student projects, including but not limited to source code, algorithms, models, designs, and implementations, shall remain the sole and exclusive property of the student.
The Institute shall not claim ownership of any student project.
Students grant the Institute a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and non-commercial right to review the project solely for academic evaluation purposes.
Such review right shall not include any right to:
Copy
Reproduce
Store
Modify
Distribute
Commercially use
License
Implement
any part of the student’s project or source code.
1.2 No Implied License
Except for the limited academic review right expressly granted above, nothing in this policy shall be construed as granting the Institute any license, ownership interest, or other rights in the student’s project, whether by implication, estoppel, or otherwise.
1.3 Academic Nature of Projects
Student projects are conducted as academic exercises for educational and evaluation purposes only.
Submission of a project does not create any obligation on the part of the Institute to develop, use, commercialize, or otherwise exploit the project.
1.4 Independent Development
The Institute and its affiliates may independently develop software, products, or services in similar domains or problem areas as those addressed in student projects.
Such independent development shall not constitute infringement provided that the Institute does not copy or use the student’s source code or proprietary implementation.
1.5 No Obligation to Disclose Internal Development
The Institute and its affiliates shall not be obligated to disclose internal development processes, source code, technical documentation, or proprietary information to demonstrate independent development.
2. Project Repository and Code Handling Policy
2.1 Repository Ownership
Students are required to create and maintain their project repositories in their own personal GitHub accounts or equivalent repositories under their control.
The Institute shall not:
Own the repository
Require transfer of repository ownership
Host student project repositories within Institute accounts
2.2 Limited Repository Access
The Institute may review student repositories solely for academic evaluation through:
Browser-based viewing
Student demonstrations
Screen-sharing sessions
The Institute shall not:
Clone repositories
Download repository archives
Copy project source code
Store project code internally
2.3 Separation from Institute Infrastructure
Institute-owned GitHub organizations, repositories, and infrastructure shall not contain:
Student project repositories
Student project source code
Copies of student project implementations
2.4 Confidentiality of Student Source Code
The Institute shall not publicly disclose or distribute a student’s project source code without the student’s explicit written consent.
2.5 Responsibility for Intellectual Property Protection
Students are solely responsible for protecting their intellectual property, including:
Selecting repository visibility settings
Applying appropriate open-source or proprietary licenses
Managing access permissions
The Institute shall not be responsible for unauthorized access, copying, or misuse of student code by third parties.
2.6 No Duty to Monitor or Enforce IP Rights
The Institute shall have no obligation to monitor, enforce, or protect the student’s intellectual property rights.
Students are solely responsible for enforcing and protecting their intellectual property.
2.7 Disclaimer of Warranty
The Institute makes no representations or warranties regarding:
The originality of student projects
The protectability of intellectual property
The commercial viability of any project
All student projects are evaluated strictly on an academic basis.
3. Project Assignment and Evaluation
3.1 Project Categories
Student projects are generally assigned within defined technical categories, such as:
AI chatbots for question answering
Document search systems
Workflow automation tools
Recommendation engines
Projects are intended as structured academic exercises rather than open-ended startup ventures.
3.2 Conflict Avoidance
If a proposed project overlaps with sensitive internal areas of the Institute, the Institute may require the student to modify or change the project topic.
3.3 Review-Only Evaluation Method
Projects are evaluated using review-based methods, including:
Demonstration presentations
GitHub walkthroughs
Screen-sharing demonstrations
The Institute shall not take possession of or store project source code as part of the evaluation process.
3.4 Student Declaration of Original Work
Students are responsible for ensuring that their project work is original or properly licensed.
The Institute shall not be responsible for any infringement of third-party intellectual property rights arising from student work.
3.5 Use of Open-Source Components
Students may incorporate open-source software components in their projects subject to the applicable open-source licenses.
Students remain solely responsible for complying with such licenses.
4. Internal Academic Controls
4.1 Instructor Responsibilities
Instructors reviewing student projects shall agree not to:
Copy student project code
Reuse student project implementations
Store student source code
4.2 Access Limitation
Access to student project repositories shall be limited to the assigned instructor or evaluator responsible for reviewing the project.
4.3 Non-Commercial Use
The Institute shall not use student project source code for commercial product development.
5. Project Record Register
For administrative purposes, the Institute may maintain a project record register containing limited project information, The register shall not contain or store project source code.
6. Institute Infrastructure Protection
Student project source code shall remain stored solely within the student’s personal repositories or systems.
The Institute shall not store student project source code on:
Institute servers
Institute GitHub repositories
Institute cloud storage
Institute backups
Any Institute-controlled infrastructure
7. No Partnership or Commercial Obligation
7.1 Academic Relationship
Student projects constitute independent academic work.
Nothing in this policy shall be construed as creating:
A partnership
A joint venture
An employment relationship
Any obligation to fund or commercialize a project
7.2 No Confidential or Fiduciary Relationship
Submission of a student project shall not create any confidential, fiduciary, or exclusive relationship between the student and the Institute with respect to the project.
8. Portfolio Display Consent
With the student’s consent, the Institute may display limited information about student projects for portfolio or academic demonstration purposes, including:
Project title
Screenshots
Demonstration videos
The Institute shall not display or publish student source code.
Such display shall not grant the Institute any ownership or commercial rights in the project.