Country's First Idea Lab Inaugurated

• 09 Feb 2022

Why in News

• On February 8, 2022, Chhattisgarh's School Education Minister Dr. Premsai Singh Tekam inaugurated the country's first All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Idea Lab at Shri Shankaracharya Institute of Professional Management and Technology College, Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

Key Points

• It is noteworthy that many engineering colleges from all over the country had applied for the setting up of Idea Lab, out of which 49 colleges were selected. Out of these, AICTE has chosen Shankaracharya College, Raipur.
• Minister Dr Tekam said that the Idea Lab has been set up with the objective of making the students understand the basic principles of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and gain practical experience by using it. With the establishment of this lab, excellent facilities will be available to the students for research and innovation.
• This idea lab will play an important role in giving shape to the imagination and thinking of the students studying in technical institutions. This lab can be used by the students as well as the general public.
• Youth starting a new venture will be able to take full advantage of it. If any student has any technical idea, then they can come to this lab and make their dream come true and they can patent their idea. The products designed by him can be developed here. This will be a big step in the field of self-employment.
• Resource-rich laboratories and developed facilities can also be used by the students of remote areas, so that they can play their important role in all round development.
• It is noteworthy that under the Idea Lab scheme, grants are given in selected institutions of the country, from which institutions purchase state-of-the-art equipment. This does not cause any difficulty in the training of the students. Idea Lab helps students to develop innovation and startup ideas.
• The scheme has been designed keeping in mind the idea development, evaluation and applications under the National Education Policy-2020. This will develop skills like Imagination, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Design Thinking, Problem Solving and Collaboration in the students. This lab will be open for seven days and 24 hours.