Over 2,000 innovative projects in Science & Technology to be taken up in 3 years: EDII

New Delhi: Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), an acknowledged national resource Institute for Entrepreneurship Education, Research, Training and Institution Building will coordinate with Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, for over 2,000 innovative projects in Science & Technology in next three years.

Students from over 40 academic institutions across India, including Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati; SRM Institute of Science and Technology, ITS Engineering College, Indian Institute of Information Technology etc will be encouraged to take up these projects with possibility of commercialisation.

Under New Generation Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre (NewGen IEDC), a programme launched by National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), DST will provide funding to these projects with the aim of inculcating the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship amongst the young S&T students. NewGen IEDC was announced in 2017-18 and so far, around 400 projects from around 25 academic institutions have already been supported.

Sharing details about NewGen IEDC, Mr. S. B. Sareen, Project Director & Co-Member Secretary, DST NewGen IEDC, said, “The major objective behind launching this programme is to motivate and encourage those students who take up projects during their internship, but fail to take it forward due to various constraints including funding. Through this support by DST, we aim to take up those ideas that have high degree of innovation and commercial viability as well as mentor students to lead a possible startup.”

Mr. Sareen added a maximum of twenty projects would be supported in a year. “Over last few years, students are opting out of deferring campus placements to give a chance to their dream projects. However, despite being innovative and commercially viable, some projects do not get converted into business plans as these students lack the support from the ecosystem,” he said.

With faculty already trained in the nuances of entrepreneurship, the presence of NewGen IEDCs in academic institutions would create a vibrant entrepreneurial culture amongst the students. Few amongst the “Job-Seekers” would be converted to “Job Generators” through the entrepreneurial route.