Kolkata: In a first of its kind competition, 10 startup ideas were rewarded by the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, kickstarting an attempt to churn out entrepreneurs, rather than just engineers, from technology campuses across the state.
On March 29, the final day of the Industry Academia Conclave, an evaluation of the future startups was done based on different innovative designs. These were showcased by as many as 25 technology colleges affiliated to the university. The initiative was taken as a part of encouraging students to innovate and become independent.
“This was done to encourage more students to opt for entrepreneurship and consultancy, and not rely solely on recruitment or placements. If the industry can adopt the technologies developed by the students, then there will be scope for further employment in the state,” said Saikat Maitra, Vice-Chancellor of MAKAUT.
The to 10 startup ideas showcased at the conclave were awarded and given certificates of appreciation. The ideas will be sent to the incubation centre where the designs will be made technologically fool proof and commercially viable. Later, banking networks and venture capitalist firms will be sent the feasibility reports prepared by the students. These reports will then be sent to different industry houses, associations and chamber of commerce for marketing.
“Budding entrepreneurs whose ideas get selected will receive adequate support from the university. We will also do the necessary liaising with the Small Industry Development Corporation and financial sectors. Branding and marketing will be taken up to sell the technology,” Maitra added.
Around 70-80 colleges showcased their startup ideas and many brought multiple ideas to the forefront. The judging was based on two categories. “The degree colleges were separately showcased while diploma or polytechnic colleges were put in a separate segment. A few school students, too, participated through Vigyan Chetona Mancha — a consortium which promotes such startup ideas,” the VC said.
The judging was carried out in two phases. The ideas were initially judged by the Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council, which accessed the viability and potential of the projects, before being scrutinized by university-nominated experts.
Techno India has promised to donate Rs 1 crore for developing a corpus fund to meet expenses at the incubation centre. “Next week, we will hold a meeting to work out how to strengthen the EKTA incubation centre, which will be revamped.”
The first prize for innovation and startup went to Heritage Institute, which worked on an equipment which can sense trembling limbs among patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease. The second award went to Meghnad Saha Institute of Technology for a modified innovation on electronic retina and MCKV Institute bagged the third spot with a chair with wheels that canclimb stairs.
Other winners included Haldia Institute of Technology, for high-tech racing cars and IEM for a Bluetooth-operated vacuum cleaner, a robot that can read hand gestures and an object finder that can detect any object made out of any material within a range of 500m.
Source: Times of India
