e-Exhibition of 75 innovations/startups and 10 Toycathon teams from 10th to 16th Jan 2022: The Ministry of Education's Innovation Cell organizes multiple initiatives such as National Innovation Contest (NIC), Smart India Hackathon (SIH), YUKTI 2.0, MBA in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Venture Development (IEV) to promote the culture of ideation and innovations and venture development within Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). On the occasion of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebration, the Ministry of Education will identify 75 innovative technologies developed by students/faculty having start-up potential. Funding support upto Rs. 10.00 lakhs each will be provided to these innovative technologies. Moreover, mentoring and incubation support will also be provided in collaboration with partnering agencies.
Prize Distribution to Winners of the MANTHAN-2021: Hackathon “MANTHAN 2021” is a unique initiative to identify innovative concepts and technology solutions for addressing the security challenges of the 21st century faced by our intelligence agencies. MANTHAN-2021 is organized by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) in coordination with the Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Education and AICTE and was launched on 26 th August 2021 at National Media Centre, New Delhi. Selected youths from Higher education institutions and registered start-ups across the country will participate to offer strong, safe, and effective technology solutions using their technical expertise and innovative skills. MANTHAN has received 2303 ideas that are currently being evaluated by the group of experts and 14 teams are announced as finalists on 19 th November 2021. The winners will receive prizes on 11 th Jan total prize money worth Rs. 40 Lakhs.
Industry partnership with TOYCATHON-2021 winners to take the innovations forward Under the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ “Toycathon-2021” was organized to strengthen the Indian toy industry through challenging India’s innovative minds to conceptualize novel Toys and Games based on Indian civilization, history, culture, mythology and ethos. Toycathon-2021 aimed at boosting the toy Industry in India to help it capture a wider share of the toy market. This is an inter-ministerial initiative organized by MOE’s Innovation Cell with support from All India Council for Technical Education, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of MSME, Ministry of Textiles and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This first edition has successfully announced 117 teams as winners in three categories, presented by the school students, college students and start-ups & professionals across different themes and tracks. For further handholding/deployment of the products, an industry interaction and incubation A linkage event will be held on December 21 and the successful partnerships will be presented and felicitated during the occasion of celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
Panel Discussion I: Innovation, Human Values, & Sustainability
Scientific developments and innovations are happening at a very rapid pace. However, it is often observed that in this race for technology development, sustainability and human values take a back seat. Considering our long term goal, human values and sustainability is very critical and should be an integral part of innovation. This panel will deliberate upon this aspect and will discuss different case studies and their own experiences in ensuring that human values and sustainability are integral to innovation.
Panel Discussion II: Best Innovation and Start-up Practices in HEIs
The Indian higher educational institution system is in transition and now gives huge emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship. Policy interventions at different levels by the government are playing a key role in creating and sustaining the innovation and start-up movement in educational institutions. The panel will discuss best practices and models adopted by different public and private educational institutions to build innovations and entrepreneurial ecosystems within the campuses.
Panel Discussion III: Grey Hairs not mandatory to build great enterprises
A common question that strikes many of us is ‘Does age matter for entrepreneurial success?’. Though there is no straightforward answer, it’s evident that age in itself does not matter in trying to forecast entrepreneurial success of an individual. There are other various factors such as experience, skill, knowledge and practice do play a role. This panel is going to discuss in detail about age and combination of other factors in shaping a smart entrepreneur. The panelists are student innovators & entrepreneurs in their early stage of venture and will share their perspectives on innovation and entrepreneurship career journeys.
Panel Discussion- IV: Attracting Big Investment for Innovative ideas from Educational Institution
Investors are key stakeholders in a competitive market responsible for sensible and sustainable growth of start-ups. It not only shapes the innovation but also the business growth trajectory of ventures. In the Indian context, the vibrancy of the investor community and conducive environment for investment is just picking up in recent years. Especially, there is a substantial increase in the outflow of innovations and start-ups from higher educational institutions. Ventures are built by students and faculty members taking risks in creating and commercializing innovative technologies in ways that larger businesses are unable to do. Sometimes these technologies open completely new markets, transforming industries. Therefore, there is a quest for new models and approaches for investment too.
The panel is composed of eminent industrialists, business tycoons and investors will discuss current and future trends of investment market, and opportunities and also to highlight emerging approaches to address the current market need.
Panel Discussion-V: Schools, Innovation, Game and Curriculum
School education immensely contributes towards shaping the mindset of an individual. Introduction to the concepts of ideation, innovation and entrepreneurship in schools itself will certainly prepare young minds to convert challenges into opportunities. It will also make them aspirational and increase their appetite for risk. We need to inculcate amongst students that they should chase good ideas and be as creative as possible. To understand the context in-depth, the panel consists of school and college student innovators to share their life philosophy and approach to innovations they have developed and what more can be done to accelerate the process.