Mangaluru: Sahyadri College of Engineering & Management (SCEM), Mangaluru has been selected for establishing Institute Innovation Council (IIC) as per the norms and directives of Innovation Cell, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India. Union HRD Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar launched the ‘Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC) program under Innovation cell of MHRD at All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) headquarters in New Delhion 21 st November, 2018.

Speaking on the occasion the Union Minister said that universities are the main research centers of developedcountries and because of their research they areat the top in global innovation ranking.He said that now Indian universities are also setting up research centers through IIC program and we are expecting good rank in global innovation ranking in next 2-3 years through this initiative.

He also said that the educational advancement in higher education can only be achieved by encouraging best practices in innovation, advanced research for which Innovation Cell has undertaken many initiatives like Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievement (ARIIA), Smart India Hackathon (SIH)-
2019, etc. He also appreciated the efforts the officials of MHRD and AICTE to bring out this program which will contribute in the holistic development of education in the country. Dr. Manjappa Sarathi, Director R&D and President of IIC, SCEM and Dr. Anush Bekal, Associate Professor, ECE and Convener of IIC, Sahyadri received the institution certificate by Dr. M. P. Poonia, Vice-chairman of All India Council for Technical Education at the AICTE Headquarters, New Delhi.

Shri R. Subrahmanyam, Secretary (HE), MHRD; Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE; Dr. M. P. Poonia, Vice-chairman, AICTE; Dr. N. Saravana Kumar, Joint Secretary (TE); Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan, Vice-Chairman, UGC; Dr. Abhay Jere, CIO, MIC; dignitaries from the Central Government agencies and more than 800 representatives from Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) and Universities across the country were present on the occasion. (News Courtesy: Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, 21 st November, 2018). MHRD has recently established ‘MHRD’s Innovation Cell (MIC)’ to systematically foster the culture of Innovation amongst all HEIs across the country. MIC with the mandate to work closely with all HEIs to encourage the creative energy of student population to work on new ideas and innovation and promote them to create start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures.

MIC will focus on creating complete ecosystem which will foster the culture of Innovation across all educational institutions from ideas generation to pre-incubation, incubation and graduating from the incubator as successful start-ups. MIC will also work on designing ranking system to identify institutions in the forefront of innovation. It will actively engage various central and state agencies to ensure that dedicated budget is allocated for innovation related activities.