This article was contributed by Professor Anil Gupta from the Indian Institute of Management

There are about six technology students who spend at least six months in their final year for doing a project. And yet, nobody knows the fate of these projects. The problems of micro and small industries are not presented to the students nor do the good projects get used by the industries. Furthermore, the grassroots innovations already developed in the informal sector do not get an opportunity for being valorized by these students.

The Techpedia.in portal will promote originality, and eliminate incentives to purchase the projects from third party vendors. This portal will give stimulus for investment in such startups promoting entrepreneurship, as well as further motivate the students who work in teams within or across the institutions to address the problems of micro and small enterprises.

Incentives and awards can be given to the students who find outstanding low cost process and products options for the industry, add value to grassroots innovations, or develop business plans to become an entrepreneur based on technologies developed by them or other students. In 2008, as part of Ignite 08 organized by National Innovation Foundation (NIF), Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam gave the awards to such engineering students at a function held at IIMA along with children innovators.

The Techpedia.in portal will also reinforce linkage between academia and industry as well as the informal sector. Large number of technical problems have remained unaddressed in Indian villages, towns and slums. Who will sponsor their problems to the top technology institutions? How will these problems be addressed unless we motivate the young tech students? We have to harness idealism still available among young hearts. This initiative has already been started with the help of student volunteers from Pune, Delhi, Bangalore, and the faculty and students from SVNIT, Surat.

We could also in due course post technology challenges from large companies on such a portal, so that a simultaneous attempt can made by many students at cracking their problems. The industry advantage will be that (i) they will learn about multiple heuristics aimed at solving same problem, (ii) identify bright young students who they could hire for their in house R & D projects, and (iii) strengthen institutions/departments in which promising mentoring and guidance is being provided.

We have to develop distributed capacity for nurturing talent in hundreds of small towns and villages through a broad network of institutions ranking in the second and third tier. Many of these institutions may have top quality departments on specific subjects, which will be uncovered through the Techpedia.in portal. Synergy between all kinds of technology institutions will emerge in due course.

India can become an innovation-based incubator of the world. Ideas from all over the world may come to India for incubation, product development, design and fabrication.  Let us pool our spirit and resources to make this happen.