Guwahati: A special AICTE-MIC-sponsored boot camp aimed to spur innovation, design and entrepreneurship across schools in Assam was conducted at Girijananda Chowdhury University on November 29-30.
The boot camp was organized by the Central government under the ground-breaking School Innovation Council (SIC) initiative, which announced funding of up to Rs 1.5 lakh to young entrepreneurs for the incubation of their projects.
In addition, under SIC, any school teacher will be able to complete a certification course for the Ambassador Training Program, after which he or she is designated as a School Innovation Ambassador by the SIC.
The Department of School Education and Literacy, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) & Ministry of Education Innovation Cell (MIC), in collaboration with CBSE and NCERT, organized this two-day “Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship (IDE) Boot Camp” for Schools Principals/Teachers (Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools).
The aim of this major initiative was to nurture the innovation, design, and entrepreneurial skills of teachers from schools across Assam and the rest of India.
Girijananda Chowdhury University was selected as the only educational institution in the entire Northeast to host this prestigious event.
The special boot camp was organized in collaboration with the Wadhwani Foundation, renowned for its support of entrepreneurship education.
A total of over 3700 participants from various schools have registered for this nationwide program, which is being conducted across 17 states.
In GCU itself, more than 150 teachers and principals registered for this major AICTE-MIC initiative (from across states).
The third edition of the nationwide boot camp was inaugurated by Dr. Abhay Jere, Vice Chairman, AICTE on 22 November 2024.
Prof. Indrani Bhaduri from NCERT and Dr. Biswajit Saha from CBSE attended the event.
The State Level IDE Boot Camp was inaugurated on November 29 at Girijananda Chowdhury University by chief guest Dr. Nirada Devi Director, SCERT, Assam, Dr. Hirak Ranjan Das, Nodal Centre Head and Vidhikar Vishal, Nodal Centre Coordinator from the Ministry of Education, Innovation Cell along with Sreevatsan, Master Trainer from Wadhwani Foundation, and top dignitaries from GCU and SSA Society.
Jasoda Ranjan Das, President of SSA Society, delivered the welcome address.
Prof. Jayanta Deka, Chancellor GCU, expressed his pride about the fact that GCU was chosen as the only institution in the Northeast for the launch of the boot camp.
Dr. Nirada Devi, Director SCERT Assam, spoke about India’s goal to become a $5 trillion economy in the coming years. Dr. Devi appreciated the boot camp for motivating teachers and students to practise innovative thinking for the empowerment of the society.
Dr. Hirak Ranjan Das, (AICTE-MIC) Nodal Centre Head, observed that the boot camp was part of the Union Government’s vision to support marketable innovations through IPR facilities and technology transfer.
Vidhikar Vishal, (AICTE-MIC) Nodal Centre Coordinator, introduced the participants to the newly formed School Innovation Council.
Elaborating on the School Innovation Council initiative, Dr. Elangovan Kariappan, Assistant Innovation Director, MIC, noted that MIC currently supports innovation at the school level through a number of ways such as offering up to Rs 1.5 lakh for incubation of promising projects.
On the first day, the interactive sessions were led by Sreevatsan from Wadhwani Foundation, who focused on building speed networking skills and techniques for formulating original ideas.
The participants presented a number of hypothetical business ideas, including a GPS-fitted backpack and a laundry bag-cum-washing machine.
Subsequently, Anusuya Mahanta from IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, spoke on triggering innovation in schools and noted that as mentors, teachers should try to create a safe space where students feel comfortable to share ideas and experiments, even if they fail.
The participants were also taken on an observational tour of AICTE-IDEA lab, DST-FIST lab and the Central Instrument Lab in Girijananda Chowdhury University, where they were introduced to the latest cutting-edge machines such as laser cutter and 3D printers.
The concluding day of the Boot Camp saw various interactive sessions conducted by Sreevatsan on customer discovery, solution idea generation and the basics of financial literacy.
Plabon Bora of Assam Startup gave an overview of grants and funding opportunities for student startup. Finally, Prof. Shantanu Deka from IIE Guwahati showcased innovative benchmarking practices in entrepreneurship education for the audience of school principals and teachers.
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The two-day event ended with a vote of thanks delivered by Prof. Dipankar Saha, Registrar, of Girijananda Chowdhury University.
