Discussion about IIC Activities and Yukti-NIR

On 12.07.2023 a “Discussion about IIC Activities and Yukti-NIR” was organized by the Entrepreneurship Development Cell in association with the IIC to create awareness about the functioning of IIC and to encourage the students to upload their ideas, prototypes and startups in YUKTI portal. The session was handled by Dr. R Prem Ananth, IIC Convener, IIC Innovation Ambassador for "Design thinking & Innovations", Assistant professor, Francis Xavier Engineering College, Tirunelveli from 01.30 PM - 04.30 PM. 148 students and 1 faculty participated in the program. This event was coordinated by Shirly Myrtle R, Assistant Professor, Information and Technology, Francis Xavier Engineering College.

The guest speaker started his session by addressing the importance of being an entrepreneur rather than an employee. He said Limited Income, Dependency, No Job Security and Stunted Career growth are the demerits of being an employee. He said that choosing entrepreneurship will help to drive passion and fulfill the dreams of an individual. He added Independent, Flexible working hours, grow economically and scope to explore are the merits of being an entrepreneur. He cited Tata Business Empire as an example for the career growth in Entrepreneurship.

The speaker explained the functions of Institution Innovation Council (IIC). He said IIC focus on creating a vibrant local innovation ecosystem, start-up supporting mechanism in HEIs, preparing institute for Atal Ranking of institutions on innovation and develop better cognitive ability among students. He also highlighted few functions of IIC such as conduct of various Innovation, IPR and entrepreneurship-related activities, organizing periodic workshops/ seminars/ interactions with entrepreneurs, investors, professionals and create a mentor pool for student innovators and organizing Hackathons, idea competition, mini-challenges etc. with the involvement of industries.

The speaker discussed about YUKTI – National Innovation Repository (NIR) and he said that YUKTI is an initiative of the Ministry of Education (MoE) Government of India and it is implemented by MoE’s Innovation Cell and AICTE to build a system of repository of ideas, innovations and startups developed in academic institutions and enabling institutions to systematically foster the I&E culture by managing and nurturing these innovations by offering continuous support in terms of one-to-one mentorship, referral and linkage with incubation units, connecting with Angel/Venture Capital (VC) investors network, knowledge agencies, etc. He also explained the procedures to upload the ideas, Prototypes and startup in YUKTI portal.