This NSTEDB program has ended and is no longer operational.
Introduction:
The NewGen Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre (NewGen IEDC) was promoted in educational institutions to develop an institutional mechanism to create an entrepreneurial culture in S&T academic institutions and to foster techno-entrepreneurship for the generation of wealth and employment by S&T persons. The NewGen IEDCs were established in academic institutions (science colleges, engineering colleges, universities, management institutes) having requisite expertise and infrastructure.
NewGen IEDC was designed to :
“To promote knowledge based and technology-driven start-ups by harnessing young minds and their innovation potential in an academic environment”
Objectives:
The following were the objectives of the NewGen IEDC Program :-
- To channelize the knowledge and the energy of youth towards becoming active partners in the economic development process.
- To catalyze and promote development of knowledge-based and innovation-driven enterprises and promote employment opportunities amongst youth specially students.
- To inculcate a culture of innovation driven entrepreneurship.
- To act as an institutional mechanism for providing various services including information on all aspects of enterprise building to budding S&T entrepreneurs.
Functions:
Functions of NewGen IEDCs were:
- To motivate, support and mentor students for identification, development and commercialization of their innovative ideas.
- To initiate targeted number of innovative student projects each year for new product development.
- To organize Business Plan Competitions / Innovation Camps / Hackathons with active involvement of industry and alumni.
- To guide and assist prospective entrepreneurs on various aspects such as preparing project reports, obtaining project approvals, loans and facilities from agencies of support system, information on technologies, etc.
- To arrange interaction with entrepreneurs, bankers, professionals, potential customers and create a mentorship scheme for student innovators.
- To facilitate creation of Entrepreneur’s Club / E-Cells in the college to foster culture of entrepreneurship amongst students.
Outcomes
The New Generation Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre (NewGen IEDC) aimed to inculcate the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship amongst young S&T students, encouraging and supporting start-up creation through guidance, mentorship, and support. NewGen IEDCs were established in academic institutions where students were encouraged to take up innovative projects with the possibility of commercialization.
NSTEDB, DST had supported 26 academic institutions located in 13 States, namely: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.
Some of the important host institutions were: University of Kashmir-Srinagar, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Guwahati, Indian Institute of Information Technology-Allahabad, Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering, Shimoga, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Sumathi Reddy Institute of Technology for Women, Warangal, College of Technology and Engineering, Udaipur, and Dr. MGR Educational and Research Institute, Chennai, among others.
Progress made by the NewGen IEDCs was very encouraging, and the following are some of the highlights :
- Total number of Student Projects supported: 1571
- No. of Patents filed by students: 471
- No. of Patents Granted: 40
- No. of Companies/Starts up Set up by Students: 138
- No. of Enterprise/Business Commercialized: 67
Success Stories
Ms. Varsheni Nagarajan & Team of NewGen IEDC, Dr. M. G. R. Educational & Research Institute, Chennai developed their Project BARCO – HYACINTH Collector. The start-up had been selected as the best innovation in IIT PALS InnoWah Competition, Chennai and it has been selected for AICTE DTU (Technical University of Denmark)’ water challenge at Delhi. It was awarded with Euros 1000 seed fund under Next Generation Water Challenge competition.
Mr. Jainul Abedin & Team of NewGen IEDC, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad developed their Project ABYOM Rocket TDM (Tech. Demonstration Module). Abyom is the 1st officially recognized Space Tech Startup from Uttar Pradesh. The journey started back in 2020, when Jainul Abedin (CEO & Founder) was invited by ISRO and they recommended to start an own venture on this vision, which is “To put India on the World’s Indigenous Reusable & Reliable Space Launch, Infrastructure and Talent map.”
The team’s experience comes from its college years when it produced a variety of prototypes and tests, such as static solid motor tests, parachute ejection tests, and rockets that were launched in the USA for the Space Port America Cup to a height of 10,000 ft.