MIC Programmes & Schemes with Dr. Abhay Jere, VCM, AICTE & CIO, MoE

On 23.10.2024 a session was organized on the title “MIC Programmes & Schemes with Dr. Abhay Jere, VCM, AICTE & CIO, MoE” by the MoE Innovation Cell and IIC. The guest speaker was Dr. Abhay Jere, VCM, AICTE & CIO, MoE 172 students and 24 faculty participated in the program. This event was coordinated by Dr. R Prem Ananth, IIC Convener, IIC Innovation Ambassador for "Design thinking & Innovations", Assistant professor, Francis Xavier Engineering College.

The guest speaker emphasized that Institution Innovation Council (IIC) at technical institutions should evolve into problem-solving hubs not only for India but for the global community. He stressed the importance of creating awareness on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and organizing idea challenges and design thinking workshops to foster creativity among students. In his speech, the speaker highlighted the fact that, despite having more than 1 crore students enrolled across institutions, only 6,000 startups have emerged globally, which signifies a need for improvement in entrepreneurial outcomes.

He encouraged students to actively participate in the internal Smart India Hackathon (SIH) and SIH 2024 to develop practical solutions to pressing problems. He also discussed the Yukti Portal, which has seen the submission of over 1 lakh innovative ideas, and urged students to focus on projects at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 for meaningful progress. The guest speaker further mentioned that last year, 130 innovations were funded under the Yukti Innovation Challenge. He highlighted the importance of the newly established Indovation Centres across the country, which provide handholding support for technology transfer. He urged institutions to leverage these centres to enhance their IIC activities. Additionally, Dr. Abhay Jere elaborated on the Kapila Portal, which offers reimbursement for government charges related to IP filing, thereby encouraging students and institutions to protect and promote their innovations through proper intellectual property management.