Taking the onus to nurture and support student innovation in India, the Public policy think tank of the Government of India, NITI Aayog has joined hands with La Fondation Dassault Systemes to commence the third series of the ‘Student Entrepreneurship Program’ (SEP 3.0) for the young innovators of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL).
The Student Entrepreneurship Programme is based on the theme of ‘Made in 3D – Seed the Future Entrepreneurs Program’, which was conceptualized and rolled out in France by La Main à la Pate Foundation and La Fondation Dassault Systèmes Europe in 2017.
As a part of the program, a total of 50 teams from 26 states are selected. These teams include the top 20 teams of (Atal Tinkering Lab) ATL Marathon 2019, 10 teams from Aspirational Districts, 10 teams selected by Dassault, and 10 teams from Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, and Northeast regions.
Each team comprises 6 students and a teacher, which will work towards creating their own start-up, design and prototype their innovation using 3D printing, prepare marketing campaigns, define product pricing and create expansion strategy. Additionally, they will allocate seed funding for their ventures.
With this, each school’s startup will get exposure to running a startup and towards the end of the program, a playful competition will be organized to showcase marketing campaigns by these startups in front of experts from industry and academia.
The imperativeness of ‘Student Entrepreneurship Program’
The Student Entrepreneurship Programme will serve as a catalyst and help accelerate the entrepreneurial journey of the young innovators in creating a new innovative India.
Further keeping the essence of the program in mind, SEP 3.0 will allow young entrepreneurs to work closely with Dassault volunteers and gain the knowledge of Mentor support, Prototyping, and testing support, End-User feedback, Intellectual Property registration among others.
“All the students who participated in this program must know that they have climbed the third range of mountains in terms of growing in the field of entrepreneurship having already worked on problems and innovation. I have no doubt in saying that these students are going to excel. SEP is not only about bringing solutions to table but knowing how crucial the solution is for all of us,” Mission Director, AIM, NITI Aayog Dr. Chintan Vaishnav said while congratulating and complimenting top students of ATL Marathon 2019.
The Top teams of SEP 3.0 are selected through the ATL Marathon, a nationwide contest that allows students to identify community challenges and create grassroots innovations and solutions within set up of Tinkering labs
The flagship ‘Atal Innovation Mission’
The Government of India has been running its flagship initiative ‘Atal Innovation Mission’ (AIM), to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. The objective of this scheme is to enhance curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds & inculcate adaptive learning, and physical computing
Over the span of 4 years, Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL), a state-of-the-art space established in a school is fostering curiosity and innovation in young minds through 21st-century tools and technologies such as the Internet of Things, 3D printing, rapid prototyping tools, robotics, miniaturized electronics and many more.
With more than 7,200 labs across the country, over 3.5 million students have been trained under the initiative.
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