India's academic ecosystem is undergoing a monumental transformation to make education more relevant to real-world needs. Invention Factory, a summer program in inventing, is driving this movement forward. This collaborative initiative between Maker Bhavan Foundation (MBF) and IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Bombay, and IIT Jammu has been a catalyst for innovation.
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Rashmi Sanghi-Prof. Amity Uni, Khushboo Rathore-IIT Jammu, Sudarshan Saraf, Co-Chair & MD Technocraft Industries India, Varun Rawat-NIT Trichy, Hemant Kanakia, Founder-Chair, MBF
With 146 students and 74 provisional patent applications, this program-originally founded in the U.S. by Prof. Alan Wolf (a Physics professor and U.S. Patent Attorney) and Prof. Eric Lima (a Mechanical Engineering professor) from the Cooper Union-empowers young minds to invent, disrupt, and shape the future. For the fifth edition of the program, Invention Factory shortlisted 60 students from the 700 who had applied from science, engineering, and design colleges.
Professor Manoj Gaur, Director, IIT Jammu, stated, "Invention Factory is an immersive program wherein our faculty, students, and volunteers engage themselves with a wide variety of problems towards physical deployable solutions. This is a very interesting program where we are learning to understand how, on fast track, we can identify a problem, find a solution, and create an IPR worth provisional patent."
The top three "Best Inventions" at each location received a financial incentive. Every participating team has the opportunity to file a provisional patent application for their prototype in both India and the U.S. This year, participants will file 30 provisional patent applications, which protects inventions for one year. This brings the total number of provisional patent applications from the program to over 100.
"Invention Factory offers engineering and design students an opportunity to identify significant problems and create patentable solutions. Participants learn problem identification, solution design, prototype testing, and most importantly patent law, which is usually not covered in their regular curriculum. In six weeks, they develop an inventive mindset and transform into inventors," said Professor Madhu Vadali, Mech. Engg., IIT Gandhinagar and Professor-in-Charge, Invention Factory.
WINNERS
IIT Gandhinagar
(Tied for 1st Prize)
Nageshwar Kumar and Chaitanya Tandon from the Indian Institute of Technology, Jammu, developed a groundbreaking glove that enables real-time communication for deaf-blind individuals.
Stavan Mehta from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and Kritika Patidar from the Indian Institute of Technology, Jammu, designed a device that significantly reduces the complications in tooth extraction.
IIT Bombay
Ishan Agarwal from the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, and Vrushti Shah from Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, developed a therapeutic pain relief device designed to alleviate muscle spasms through pulsating pressure using air compression.
IIT Jammu
Varun Manoj Rawat from NIT Trichy and Khushbooo Kanwar Rathore from IIT Jammu developed a "multi drug injector," which is a device that mixes and injects two fluids instantly while ensuring precise dosing and effective mixing.
Ruyintan Mehta, President of Maker Bhavan Foundation, said, "As I traveled to each of the three campuses for the finale, I was struck by the creativity of their inventions. They are more than just ideas-they are seeds of transformation."
About Maker Bhavan Foundation (MBF)
Maker Bhavan Foundation (MBF) was formed in 2019 as a US 501(c) 3 public charity with a vision of modernizing STEM education in Indian science and engineering colleges by promoting a culture of making and active learning and nurturing talented makers - students and faculty. This helps students to learn to build realistic engineering projects that solve real-world problems, develop an inventive mindset, and acquire essential soft skills and habits of lifelong learning. MBF works with various institutes in India, its faculty, and students to make education more relevant and responsive to the real-life needs of people and society.
