Activities of IGNOU IIC 2.0

Activities of IGNOU IIC 2.0 in 2019-2020

National Innovation Contest 2020

As part of its activities to foster innovations among students of IGNOU, the IGNOU IIC-MHRD’s Innovation Cell announced the second IIC National Innovation Contest 2020. The Contest aimed at identifying students who have creative minds, engaging them in building innovations, and nurturing them through series of mentoring sessions and bootcamps. This contest is a 360-degree approach to complete a cycle of Innovation and entrepreneurship through a process of problem identification, ideation and enterprise building in a time period of Half- One year. The Contest was announced on 20 May, 2020, and the last date of submission was 24 May, 2020. A Google form was designed for the purpose and was uploaded on the IGNOU website and Nvreiti portal to invite maximum number of participants. Entries from the IGNOU students from all over India were received. A total of 18 students were selected, out of which 12 students were nominated in the Idea category, three students were nominated to the Proof of Concept category and three students were nominated in the Prototype Category in the MIC Portal.

The IIC organized a virtual meeting with the students, who had been nominated for the National Innovation Contest -2020 being organized by the MHRD Innovation Cell, on 27 June, 2020. The aim of the meeting was to interact with the students and guide them to prepare for the Contest. Vice Chancellor Professor Nageshwar Rao congratulated the students and appreciated their ideas. He gave an inspiring talk in which he urged the students to think out of the box and keep innovating. He extended all the help and support that would be needed to foster the students.

Attended the First Festival of Innovations of MIC

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) Innovation Cell (MIC), on its Foundation Day, on September 11, 2019 celebrated the First Annual Innovation Festival at the AICTE Headquarters, New Delhi, where the MHRD Minister, Mr. Ramesh Pokriyal was the chief guest. The MIC invited IGNOU IIC to be a part of the celebration as the IIC is associated with MIC through the Institution Innovation Council, an initiative by the Ministry of HRD. The Convener of IGNOU IIC attended the event.

One Day Workshop on Problem Solving/Design Thinking titled “Creative and Innovative Teaching through ODL”

The IGNOU Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC) organised a “One-day Workshop on Creative and Innovative Teaching through ODL” on September 24, 2019. The objectives of the Workshop were to create awareness about creative teaching and innovation in the ODL system with an aim to inculcate innovative thinking among the students using various models. The participants included the faculty members from eleven Schools of Studies and three Divisions. Professor Prabir Kumar Biswas, an eminent Psychologist and Educationist and Professor in STRIDE was invited as the expert resource person. In the sessions conducted by him, the creative aspect of the faculty members in their teaching-learning methods were discussed. He emphasized that the teaching-learning material needs to be creatively designed keeping in mind the 21^st century skills: Critical thinking, Creativity, Collaboration and Communication skills (4Cs).

One Day Workshop on “Entrepreneurship and Innovation as Career Opportunity”

The IIC organised, a workshop on “Entrepreneurship and Innovation as Career opportunity” on 15th October 2019 at IGNOU Regional Centre Delhi-2, Rajghat, New Delhi. The resource persons were the NCIDE faculty members. About eighty students participated. The students generated approximately 500 ideas on the themes viz. food and agriculture, rural development, clean energy and alternate fuel, clean water and water management, swachhta initiatives and waste management, health care and hygiene, smart transportation and traffic management, smart city and urban development, social issues and security system, technological innovation and education and Open University system. Out of the 500 ideas 24 unique, new, useful and socially relevant ideas were selected on which further work could be carried out.

Innovation Day and Event titled “Student Innovation and Startup Day”

In order to inculcate the spirit of innovation among students, IGNOU IIC, NCIDE in collaboration with IGNOU Regional Centre Delhi-2 celebrated the ‘Student Innovation and Start-up Day’ on 15th October 2019 at IGNOU Regional Centre Delhi-2, Rajghat, New Delhi. On the occasion of the Birth Anniversary of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the Former President of India, this programme was organised as a tribute to a visionary and great son of India. About a hundred participants including IGNOU students, Coordinators/Programme In-Charges of IGNOU Study Centres of Delhi NCR and the staff members of NCIDE and Regional Centre Delhi-2 attended the programme. On this occasion mainly three activities were organised which included an inspiring talk on Innovation and Start-up for IGNOU students, presentation on Idea to Start-up scheme of IGNOU and a workshop on Idea generation. Prof. S. P. Mishra, former Director, National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NISBUD) and former Vice Chancellor, Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar, gave an inspiring talk on innovation and start up for the IGNOU students and told them how they can work on developing their ideas into commercial products or startups. A presentation on Idea to Start-up scheme of IGNOU was also given where the students were informed about this scheme of idea to startup scheme of IGNOU by the NCIDE faculty members. Additionally, a workshop on “Entrepreneurship and Innovation as Career opportunity” was organised.

“My Story-Innovator’s Life & Crossroad - Motivational Speak”

The IIC organised a storytelling event “Innovator’s Life and Crossroads” on 30th October, 2019 at NCIDE, IGNOU, New Delhi. The objective was to listen to the motivational story of a student Innovator, Mr. Kailash Kumar. He was awarded the third prize in the Student Innovation Award 2019 programme. He has designed an innovative device called the “Eye Rotation Pendulum” to be used for the visual therapy of the patients with refractive errors. The participants included the faculty members of various schools of studies of IGNOU.

Half day Seminar on “Innovator Speaks: Stories of Innovation by IGNOU Students”

NCIDE, under the aegis of the Institution’s Innovation Council, organised a half day Seminar on Innovator Speaks: Stories of Innovation by IGNOU Students at the Committee Room, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Convention Centre, IGNOU on 20^th November, 2019. The objectives of the Seminar were to discuss about the innovations carried out by the IGNOU student innovators and guide them for further improvement of their innovations. Basically, it was aimed at mentoring them for future. These student innovators are the winners of the Student Innovation Award 2019. A large number of faculty members were present at the seminar to support and encourage the IGNOU student innovators and interact with them. Prof. R. R. Kanhere, Pro-Vice Chancellor, IGNOU and Prof. Satyakam, Pro-Vice Chancellor, IGNOU, graced the occasion with their benign presence and interacted with the student innovators and guided them.

First Meeting of the reconstituted IGNOU Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC 2.0)

The first meeting of the reconstituted IGNOU’s Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC 2.0) was organized on December 19, 2019. The council meeting was chaired by Prof. R. R. Kanhere, Pro-Vice Chancellor, IGNOU and total 35 members participated in the meeting which included IGNOU faculty members, external experts from industry & banking sector and innovator students of IGNOU. It also included IGNOU alumni members. It was suggested to work on various aspects in small working groups to develop specific mechanism and modalities to promote and support innovation and startup among IGNOU students and faculty. It was also suggested that activities and achievements of IIC should be shared with other stakeholders through different social media. The innovator students should be given exposure to the Incubation Centres, Industries and Startup companies.

Leadership Talks

About 24 Leadership Talks were organized through Twitter and YouTube. These talks were watched live by thousands of IGNOU Students across India. The list of the Talks is as follows:

“Innovation and Crisis and COVID Lockdown - An Efficient Way of Utilization of Time towards Combating COVID19” by Mr. Abhay Jere, Chief Innovation Officer, MHRD's Innovation Cell on Monday (30th March 2020 at 11.00 AM).
“Relevance of AICTE’s Education Technology NEAT during the Current Covid crisis” on by Mr. Abhay Jere, Chief Innovation Officer, MHRD's Innovation Cell on Tuesday (31st March 2020 at 11.00 AM),
“Smart India Hackathon” 2020 by Mr. Abhay Jere, Chief Innovation Officer, MHRD's Innovation Cell on Wednesday (1st April 2020 at 11.00 AM).
Mr. Abhishek Suryavanshi, Director, Wikipedia Project SWASTHA on Tuesday (7th April 2020 at 11.00 AM),
Prof. K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser on Wednesday (8th April 2020 at 11.00 AM),
Prof. Anil D. Sahashrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE, Thursday (9th April 2020 at 11.00 AM),
Prof. Partha Chakraborty, Chairman, National Digital Library, Friday (10th April 2020 at 11.00 AM),
Mr. Abhishek Singh, CEO, My Gov., Saturday (11th April 2020 at 11.00 AM).
Dr. V.K. Saraswat (Padma Bhushan), Member Niti aayog ,Ex-Chief Scientific Advisor Ministry of Defence, on Monday (13th April 2020 at 11.00 AM)
Dr. Anand Deshpande, Chairman, Persistent Systems on Tuesday (14th April 2020 at 11.00 AM).
Ms. Shradha Sharma, Founder, and Chief Editor, YourStory.com on Wednesday (15th April 2020 at 11.00 AM).
Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Chairman ISSR, on Thursday (16th April 2020 at 11.00 AM).
Mr. Ronnie Screwvala, Chairman UpGrad on Friday (17th April 2020 at 11.00 AM).
Yashraj Bharadwaj, Young Researcher and Entrepreneur, on Monday (20^th April 2020 at 11.00 AM)
PadmaShri Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH on Wednesday (22nd April 2020 at 11.00 AM).
Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar, Lieutenant General, on Saturday (02 May 2020 at 11.00 AM)
Dr. Pramod Chaudhari, Founder & Chairman, Praj Industries, on Saturday (16 May 2020 at 11.00 AM)
Dr. Nilesh N Oak, Expert, Indian Civilization & History, on Saturday (30 May 2020 at 01.00 PM)
Ms. Ashwini Deshpande, Founder, Elephant Design, on Saturday (6 June 2020 at 01.00 PM)
Shri R Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, on Saturday (13 June 2020 at 01.00 PM)
Sh. Shashi Shekhar, CEO Prasar Bharati, on Saturday (11 July 2020 at 01.00 PM).
Shri Anand Mahindra, Chairman Mahindra Group, on Saturday (18 July 2020 at 01.00 PM).
Ms. Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO YourStory, on Saturday (24 July 2020 at 01.00 PM).
Shri Dipendra Manocha, Motivational, on Saturday (27 June 2020 at 01.00 PM).

Online Webinar Sessions and Workshops

About 18 Online Sessions and workshops on various topics of entrepreneurship, IPR, Startups and funding opportunities were organized through YouTube. These talks were watched live by thousands of IGNOU Students across India.

Webinar on "National Innovation and Startup Policy for Students and Faculty 2019 - A Guiding Framework for HEIs for Implementation "by Mr. Dipen Sahu National Coordinator - NISP, IIC & ARIIA, MBA/PGDM in IEV Program, MHRD's Innovation Cell, AICTE, on 28 April 2020.
Webinar on "Role and Importance of Pre-Incubators, Incubators and Accelerators in HEIs - Harnessing Innovation and Entrepreneurial Potential of Students and Faculties at Early Stage" by Mr. Muthu Singaram CEO, IIT Madras, Chennai, on 29 April 2020.
Webinar on " Hangout with Emerging Innovator & Entrepreneurs Supported through MIC & AICTE" by Ms. Vandana Thakur, Female Innovator cum Entrepreneur, Canada India Acceleration Program 2020 L M College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad and Mr. Amit Sanjay Lokhande, Innovator Cum Entrepreneur, India-South Korea Startup Exchange Program 2020, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, on 30 April 2020.
Webinar on " Role of Network Enablers in driving I&E in HEIs - A Case of TiE, India” by Ms. Geetika Dayal Executive Director, TiE Delhi- NCR on 1st May, 2020.
Webinar on ""Hangout with Successful Startup Founder and Learn Design thinking Approach for Hardware Innovation" by Dr. Pankaj Parashar, CEO/Founder Cuttingedge Technology Pvt. Ltd., Indore, on 04 May 2020.
Webinar on " Entrepreneurship, Business Idea and Business Model Canvas " by Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director General, EDII, Ahmedabad, Dr. Amit Dwivedi, Associate Senior Faculty, EDII, Ahmedabad and Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO, Cradle, Incubator, EDII, Ahmedabad, on 05 May 2020.
Webinar on "How to Identify Right Problem and Solution using the Double Diamond Approach in Design " by Prajakta Kulkarni, Founder, Director, Nodes Pvt. Ltd., Pune and Sanket Inamdar, Co-founder, CEO, Nodes Pvt. Ltd, Pune, on 06 May 2020.
Webinar on " Intellectual Property (IP) Management at Early Stage of Innovation and Start-ups” by Dr Sanjeeva Kumar Majumdar, Manager-IPR, StartUp & Incubation, National Research Development Corporation, New Delhi on 07 May, 2020.
Webinar on "Understanding Angel and Venture Capital Funding - What is there for Early Stage Innovator & Entrepreneurs” by Mr. Sushanto Mitra, CEO, Lead Angels Pvt. Ltd on 08 May, 2020.
Webinar on " Legal and Ethical Steps - Productive Entrepreneurship and Startup " by Mr. Harit Mohan, Founder & CEO of Signicent LLP in India and Signicent LLC in the US, on 12 May 2020.
Webinar on "Innovating Self- Screen and Identify right opportunities" by Prof. Sanjay Inamdar, Chairman, AICTE Startup Policy Implementation Committee and Entrepreneur, on 13 May 2020.
Webinar on "Understanding Role and Application of Marketing Research at Idea to Start up Stage - Foundation Level" by Dr. Preet Deep Singh, AVP, Invest India, on 14 May 2020.
Webinar on " Innovation Risk Diagnostic — Product Innovation Rubric (PIR)” by Dr. Lakshmi Meera, on 15 May, 2020.
Webinar on " Idea, Business Model and Business Plan" by Dr. Amit Dwivedi,
Associate senior faculty EDII, Ahmedabad and Dr. S. R. Acharya, Associate Sr. Faculty, EDII, Ahmedabad on 19 May 2020.
Webinar on "Use of Market Data and Application of Marketing Research Tools and Methodology - Advance Level, Dr. Preet Deep Singh, AVP, Invest India, on 20 May 2020.
Webinar on "Frugal Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship" by Dr. Raman Gujral, Sr. Faculty, EDII, Ahmedabad, AVP, Invest India, on 21 May 2020.
Webinar on "Interaction with Student Innovators and Entrepreneurs Emerged from Smart India Hackathon (SIH)” by Pulakit Jain, Team - Vidyut, Lokesh Goswami, Team – SLICK and Arpit Nandi - Team Quarks & Leptons on 22 May, 2020.

National Innovation Contest

The MIC organized the Regional Level contest leading to National Contest. The IGNOU IIC selected and nominated 12 Ideas, 3 Proof of Concepts and 3 Prototypes of IGNOU students for the National Innovation Contest.

Popularisation of MIC Challenges and Training Sessions

SAMADHAN Challenge, 11^th April, 2020
Drug Designing Hackathon (13-15 July, 2020)

The innovation-related activities were carried at IGNOU headquarters, Regional Centre Delhi-2, Regional Centre Cochin and Regional Centre Port Blair. The MIC has showcased some of these activities in its website at https://mic.gov.in/iic.php. These showcased activities include, in addition to the activities conducted by NCIDE, Innovation Club activities at Regional Centres, such as Open Session on ‘Importance of Time Management for Effective Studies’ and ‘Domestic Environmentalism – Approaches and Strategies’ by RC Cochin. It also includes promoting innovation among IGNOU students by activities such as “Saturday Video Classes at IGNOU” by Regional Centre Port Blair and “Soft Skill Development for Industry Grounding” by IGNOU Study Centre under Regional Centre Delhi-2.

Innovation Club@Regional Centre, Cochin: Bridging the Gap between Customer Potential and Sale Potential in Banking Sector: An Innovative Approach.
Open Session on ‘Importance of Time Management for Effective Studies’.
Soft Skill Development for Industry Grounding An innovative initiative by IGNOU Study Centre.
Open session on ‘Domestic Environmentalism – Approaches and Strategies’.
Saturday Video Classes at IGNOU Regional Centre Port Blair.

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