IIT Gandhinagar launched the much-awaited event and most loved technological college fest of Gujarat, the Invention Factory India.
The Invention Factory India programme is a one-of-a-kind intense summer inventing programme. During the IITG fest, selected candidates from IITs around the nation make an invention. They prototype it, pitch it, then write and file provisional patent applications in the United States and India. They complete all of this in less than six weeks after completing one week of orientation.
This year, 20 students from ten different IITs were chosen for the Invention Factory India, including IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Goa, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, and IIT Roorkee. After the initial technological externship and orientation week, these students will be performing as a group of two to design, prototype, and pitch innovations that address a specific societal or customer demand. Their thoughts and innovations will be assessed every week by an eminent board of judges from diverse walks of life. Eventually, all the ten teams will contest to win the first prize of Rs 2 Lakhs, second prize of Rs 1 Lakh, and third prize of Rs 50,000 for assembling the “Best Invention”, “Second Best Invention”, and “Third Best Invention” respectively.
During the programme, IIT Gandhinagar Professors Nithin George, Madhu Vadali, and Jaichander Swaminathan will mentor the participants.
Students will also be mentored by Cooper Union Professors Alan Wolf and Eric Lima, who founded the original programme in the United States. The selected students are given with free hostel lodging and meals for the duration of the programme. Each team would be given a material budget of up to Rs 50,000 to design the invention prototype. They’ll work at IITGN’s newly established ‘Maker Bhavan,’ which includes laser cutters, 3D printers, machine shops, and machinists. All programme participants will get a stipend of Rs 10,000 as well as a certificate of participation.
