Young Minds Propel Innovation: AIC-MIT-ADT’s Student Innovation Program Achieves Milestone

To encourage entrepreneurship and innovation among school students, the Atal Incubation Center (AIC) at MIT Art, Design, and Technology University is conducting the Atal Tinkering Lab Student Innovative Program (ATL-SIP). For the academic year 2024-25, 14 projects from 9 schools in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh have been submitted to NITI Aayog for approval. Once approved, participating teams will have the opportunity to develop their projects with the support of the international industrial group Dassault Systems.

Project Selection and Training Process

Through AIC-MIT ADT Incubator Forum, 15 teams from 9 schools were selected for the Atal Tinkering Lab Student Innovative Program. The final online project presentations and evaluations were conducted virtually. Before this, selected students participated in special training sessions, including online and offline guidance sessions. These sessions provided in-depth insights into transforming their initial ideas into entrepreneurial startups.

Key Mentors and Evaluators of the Program

The online presentation program was organized under the guidance of MIT-ADT University’s Executive President, Prof. Dr. Mangesh Karad, and chaired by Nilesh Pandav, Program Manager at AIC-MIT ADT Incubator Forum. The key mentors included Abhishek Rathi and Manoj Deshpande.

Special guests and evaluators included renowned female entrepreneur and Director of Food Mac Consultants, Bhagyashree Mhatre, Senior Marketing Engineer at Scientech India Pvt. Ltd., Vijay Wadhane, Director of Mass Enterprises, Pune, Mangesh Chavan, and Avinash Chaudhary from MIT University’s IT Department, who assessed the student projects.

Achievements from Previous Years

In 2022-23, the project "Foot Relaxco" developed by Government School, Bilaspur, with assistance from the Bioengineering Department of MIT-ADT University, won the first prize at the national level and earned students an opportunity to visit France. Similarly, last year, the team from R.C. Patel School, Pune, was given a chance to develop their project through the renowned Digital Impact Square of Tata Foundation.

Presented Projects

This time, students submitted projects on various important topics, including accident prevention systems (Smart Road), activated charcoal production from water hyacinth, disaster alert systems, 'Street Mart' for street vendors, 'Mental Chart Board' for mental health, LPG gas leak shield, 'Diabelazal,' and automated agricultural equipment. These projects were developed under the guidance of AIC-MIT ADT and science teachers.