IndiaCSR News Network
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Technological University’s has been proactive in supporting students’ start-up by mentoring and providing technical assistance. But the varsity will now go a step ahead and fund the final-year technological innovations of students, provided the start-ups deal with sanitation and cleanliness. In wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘Swachh Bharat’, GTU has decided to set up Swachchhta Incubator to provide seed fund for innovations in the field of sanitation and cleanliness. “We need technology that can help us keep the surroundings clean and manage solid waste.
Since everything cannot be done manually, it’s time to encourage start-ups in the field of sanitation and cleanliness. Swachchhta Incubator has been created for such projects,” said Vice Chancellor at GTU Dr Akshai Aggarwal. Aggarwal said that the plan to launch incubator for technology students clicked as the varsity plans to start as many as 25 incubators under its newly launched entrepreneurship policy. “Though incubator is a strong word and needs specific facilities, our proposal to support start-up in cleanliness and sanitation will begin on humble note.
Currently, we plan to launch the incubator with the contribution from industries so that seed funding can be generated,” he said. The varsity needs around 10,000 sq feet space to set up incubation centre. “GTU has identified a space on Admission Committee for Professional Courses (ACPC) premises. We will soon approach the state government to launch this incubation centre,” said the vicechancellor. Swacchta Incubator will help students from technological colleges and incubators from across the state. GTU has recently formed an entrepreneurship policy under which it plans to give certain benefits like special leave and grades to students .
In Ahmedabad, IIMA has its incubation centre – Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) apart from MICA’s incubation centre CONCUBATOR and National Institute of Design (NID)’s incubator – National Design Business Incubator. “Some students of a citybased engineering college had developed a technique to handle additional solid waste few years ago. However, the promising technology could not be taken forward for lack of funding. But this will not be the case any more. Innovations in sanitation and cleanliness will be promoted and students will be incentivised for developing such appropriate technologies through various incubation programmes. This will compliment the prime minister’s call for clean India,” said a GTU official who does not wish to be named.
http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/ahmedabad/others/GTU-to-help-realisePMs-clean-India-vision/articleshow/45695507.cms
