I have earlier given examples of how tech-students in Gujarat have developed solutions to the problems of small-scale industries and the informal sector without much support from the state.

 

I will illustrate many more examples in the weeks to come so we can realise what students can create. What’s ironical is that in some cases, industry benefits from student solutions but do not return the favour with rewards. SRISTI’s platform, Techpedia.in has tracked dozens of such examples where students have generated efficiency without any support of meeting basic costs of making prototypes, registering patents or developing a business model. Several incubators have no ‘incubates’ and in stark contrast, we have dozens of innovators for want of incubation support.

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S-create is a model where students creatively solve problems without support of external institutions using self-reliant strategies. Milan, Sachin, Nilesh and Parthiv from BVM College of Engineering have designed low-cost machine for automatic assembly of nuts and bolts at AEP Company, Vidyanagar. They modified the design and reduced cost of existing solutions apart from making them safer. There were about 200 workers where 1,200 assembles were put together by each worker everyday. The new solution has increased their productivity to 3,200 assemblies per day per worker. The students pooled money from their pockets and developed this machine at Rs7,000.

 

Their guides, however, were not sure whether working on a small problem of a small company will take any far in their career. A fear was expressed that they might get less marks. Students didn’t care and decided to solve the problem. The congenial environment created courtesy partnership between SRISTI and Gujarat Technological University (GTU) emboldened the students to take risks and develop a solution in a time-bound fashion. I wish Industry had considered compensating and in fact, rewarding the student team and paying their cost besides some incentives. However, enhanced confidence of students is a gain by itself. But when will confidence of senior policymakers increase in the capacity of tech-youth of our country?

 

In all of the dark clouds, a motorcycle engine designed by four students from Bharuch comes as a silver lining. Jimil, Ramkrishna, Ranvijaysinh and Bhavik of Valia Institute of Technology, Bharuch are fueling a retrofitted single-cylinder, four-stroke engine with compressed air. Professor Pandey of MS University, Baroda has guided them while their guide Mayank has provided all support at the college.

 

If innovators of the informal sector work with such students, speed and scope of finding solutions can perhaps increase. We haven’t yet succeeded in forging such partnership but we hope to do so in the coming year. With Punjab and Karnataka taking interest, I will not be surprised if many new models emerge by building upon initiatives at GTU.

 

While some students could file patents, thousands more await this opportunity. With the small support, funding agencies can acquire equity in thousands of such patented technologies and hopefully create a viable business model. SRISTI doesn’t have resources to do so. However, it is possible that if various industry associations organise one or two conference less and use the saved resources for helping young students, a great deal of good can come out.

 

‘S’ thus stands for students, self-reliance and sustainable solutions without support from formal institutions and state. S-create is working, and that perhaps is the problem.

 

The author is a professor at IIMA