IIC and CU Punjab Research and Development Foundation organised National Symposium and Ideathon 3.0 to Commemorate India's G20 Presidency

Bathinda, Augst 19, 2023: In a fervent display of India's commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship during its G20 Presidency, the Institutions’ Innovation Council (IIC) and the CU Punjab Research and Development Foundation orchestrated a one-day National Symposium under the banner "Celebrating India's Presidency of the G20: Unveiling India's focus on Innovation and Entrepreneurship to Enable Start-up Ecosystem."  The symposium aimed to shed light on India's efforts to integrate innovation and entrepreneurship into the core agenda of the G20 presidency. In conjunction with the symposium, the university also organized Ideathon 3.0, an innovation challenge, to catalyze creative solutions and inspire transformative ideas.

Distinguished speakers spanning various sectors, including experts in incubation, intellectual property rights (IPR), start-up promotion, and academia, congregated to explore the pivotal role of innovation in shaping a dynamic and sustainable global economy.

The inaugural speaker of this programme Dr. Atharva Poundarik, Faculty Incharge, IIT Ropar Technology Business Incubator Foundation, delivered an insightful discourse on "Nurturing Start-ups in a Higher Education Institute: Opportunities and Challenges." Dr. Poundarik underscored that incubating start-ups within Higher Education Institutes enables them to scale up their laboratory-based R&D and innovation, generate additional revenue, job creation, and the establishment of a strong alumni network. He also highlighted how incubation at HEIs facilitates start-ups in leveraging campus R&D facilities and receiving expert guidance from faculty mentors in their respective disciplines, in addition to seed funding support.

The subsequent speaker Prof. Kashmir Singh, Coordinator, DST-Centre for Policy Research, IPR Chair-Professor, Panjab University delved into Start-ups policies to promote Entrepreneurship. Prof. Singh pointed out that just after the since the inception of Start-up India Programme in 2016, Indian Startup Ecosystem has witnessed exponential growth, currently ranking 3rd globally in terms of Start-Up ecosystem and the number of Unicorns. He further stated that Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP) 2020 of India aims to position India among the top three scientific superpowers in the next decade by building a ‘people centric’ STI and Innovation ecosystem in India.

The Invited speakers Vijay Vaishampayan, Co-founder Think4Innovation, L.H. Bhavani, Co-founder of Ancient Foods India and a self-help group from the district of Bathinda shared successful start-up ventures incubated within their premises and deliberated on strategies to transform potent ideas into successful start-ups with the potential of becoming Unicorns.
A distinctive aspect of the program was Ideathon 3.0, an engaging innovation challenge, wherein 18 participants from various schools, colleges, and universities ideated and proposed solutions addressing real-world issues, such as LifeFuel medical drones, organic incense sticks, One-Click Agro, RFID UNO, and more. The participants presented their ideas and prototypes before jury members. Dr. Sabyasachi Senapati, convener and program coordinator presented the brief report of the Ideathon 3.0 and announced the results. Dr. Nikhil Rajan from AIIMS, Bathinda, Nidhi and Abhishek R. Panigrahi from CUP, Bathinda second first, second and third place respectively in Ideathon 3.0.

The event commenced with a warm welcome address by Dr. Yogalakshmi K.N. Dr. Preeti Khetarpal, IIC Convener and IPR Activity Coordinator, provided a succinct overview of the IIC's operational framework. Dr. Surjeet S. Dhaka elucidated the initiatives undertaken by the CU Punjab R&D Foundation, while Dr. Sandeep Kaur elaborated on the initiatives under the Start-Up India initiative.

In his closing remarks, Dr. J.K. Patnaik, Vice-President of IIC, emphasized that this programme underlines India's commitment to elevating innovation and entrepreneurship as vital drivers of economic growth and development. He thanked everyone for making this programme a success.

The event was graced by the presence of Prof. Monisha Dhiman, President of IIC, Prof. Raj Kumar, Chairman, IPR Cell. Faculty, research scholars, and students of the university attended this programme.