The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Bombay) has introduced the e-Yantra Innovation Challenge (eYIC 2022-23) to seek solutions for inclusive urban infrastructure. The e-Yantra project is funded by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, and hosted at the CSE department of IIT Bombay. READ MORE | JEE Advanced 2022 Result: Meet All India Girl Topper Tanishka Kabra
According to IIT Bombay, this year's eYIC 2022 themes are- “Sustainable and Advanced Technologies for Helping Urban Inclusivity and Agriculture”. “Inclusivity here caters to Persons with Disabilities (PWD), who constitute almost 2.2 per cent of our population, that is 30 million people, but have to lag behind due to less inclusive urban spaces,” the statement read. ALSO READ | JEE Advanced Result: "Offline Classes Challenging But Better Than Online," Says PwD Topper Ojas Maheshwari
The candidates can apply for the e-Yantra Innovation Challenge on the official website- eyic.e-yantra.org till September 25. The winning teams will receive a seed prize of Rs 1 crore. The e-Yantra Innovation Challenge is divided into 4 stages-
- Stage 1 is a training sprint that familiarises participants with the theme, trains them in technologies, and helps them articulate problems with training through MOOCs and live sessions by experts
- Stage 2 is a prototyping sprint where teams work under e-Yantra mentorship to build a prototype of their proposed solution
- Stage 3 is an innovation sprint where e-Yantra helps develop a pitch to an incubator - here, the IIT Bombay incubator SINE
- Stage 4 is an implementation sprint, where teams refine their proof-of-concept (PoC) under the guidance of e-Yantra mentors.
Prof Kavi Arya, Dept. of Computer Science, IIT Bombay said, "the e-Yantra project is a very special project that has been flourishing at IIT Bombay for over a decade now. The e-Yantra Innovation Challenge brings young minds together to work on real problems to seek solutions for building a better tomorrow. Majority of the students have skills but don't know which problems to solve nor how to solve them. For that, e-Yantra engages participants in immersive learning on thematic areas where experts help them articulate relevant problems they could solve. They are then guided to develop prototypes and subsequently trained in pitching to incubators to learn to launch their own startups. This year is a watershed moment for us as we engage with youth to help us forge a better future with more inclusive urban living spaces to create a better life for all."
e-Yantra Innovation Challenge (eYIC) is a unique annual competition that trains student teams in crucial skills through MOOCs before getting them to solve real-world problems and build startups. It was started in 2014 and this year marks the 9th year of the e-Yantra Innovation Challenge. For the past few years, on average, 2,000 students have participated in e-Yantra's Innovation Challenge, IIT Bombay release read.
