Innovate to get 'More from Less for Many'

Last week, hundreds of students and faculty from Parul Polytechnic Institute, LCIT Bhandu, Hasmukh Goswami College of Engineering, and Government Polytechnic Surat among others were provided a national platform to showcase their talent through SRISTI's techpedia.in. DG CSIR, Dr Samir Brhamchari, vice-chancellor GTU and many other senior colleagues interacted with students and appreciated their ideas.

Dr Mashelkar's stress on getting More from Less for Many (MLM) could not have been better illustrated. SRISTI also announced the Gandhian Technological awards for socially useful innovation to be given by Dr Mashelkar on March 1, 2012. Entries from all over India are invited.

At the event last week, Shaikh Shehbaj demonstrated a low-cost portable solar cooker. This project shows analysis of such portable devices.

Chavda Bhupendrakumar P, Gambhva Govindbhai B, Suthar Sureshkumar R, Bihari Mahebilkhan M, Panchal Chiragbhai V, and guided by Professor MK Modh and Professor YL Raol designed a low-cost CNC machine having three axis movement for cutting design, milling, drilling and reaming.

A turbocharger for two-wheelers was also on display which uses exhaust gas to rotate the blower and improve engine efficiency by 25% compared to the conventional two-stroke petrol engines. The innovation was much appreciated. 

An LPG refrigerator made by a group of students led by Patel Birenkumar K and Patel Chintan D under Professor AB Patel's guidance has drawn attention of Future Group. They wish to try this refrigerator in their food courts.

Honey Bee Network too feels very optimistic about creating market for frugal innovations. Just as food will get cooked, cold chambers storing cakes and sweets will automatically get cooled without extra energy.

Mithilesh, a diploma drop-out student, has made water-petrol fuel kit for two-wheelers. It is in queue to be properly tested to prove its claimed fuel-efficiency advantage.

Use of recycled aggregate for old concrete, solid waste management for rural areas, use of industrial waste for manufacturing paver blocks, recharging groundwater utilising storm water in residential townships, manufacturing FAL-G bricks using local material, cathode-ray protection device, developing electricity from public areas and dancing floors, smart train system with auto loading of goods and passengers and heart-beat monitoring device were other models presented in the exhibition.

Dr DJ Shah, Professor Sheetal Shah and principals from engineering colleges motivated students to design a proof of concept of their ideas, many of which were identified during industrial shodhyatras during summer this year.

What is remarkable is that many students finished their final year project much ahead of schedule and asked for second project with additional credit for which GTU has agreed. For a state where many students did not take even one project seriously, situation has improved to such an extent that they are demanding a second project in their curriculum; a complete turnaround in their motivation levels.  A special is due to all those teachers who have worked hard to bring about this change.

We now need to test the intentions of policymakers whether they want Gujarat to be at the top in
(a) filing patents before March 12 (at high concessions through a pro bono network of IPr attorneys already built by Honey Bee Network),   
(b) decentralised incubation of ideas for product development, entrepreneurship and/or licensing and
(c) social diffusion of open source technologies in larger interest of the community.

Even large and medium private sector which has benefitted so much from so many state policies should take it as its moral duty to invest in the dreams of young techno-innovators. Time will tell…
anilgb@gmail.com

The author is a professor at IIM-A