BANGALORE, July 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
-Steve Jobs
3M-CII Young Innovators Challenge Awards announced its fifth edition of winners today at the Fourteenth CII Innovation Summit in Bangalore. With over 500 entries from across India, under 3 broad categories - Technology, Rural and Social innovation, this year witnessed the growing popularity of this platform. Recognising the importance of rural development, this year's awards process was more inclusive with targeted focus on rural innovations as a category.
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3M-CII Young Innovators Award is celebrating five years of investing in 'Youth & Innovation'. The Challenge this year looked for disruptive innovations that could create a better India in the areas of health, education, livelihood, environment, art and culture, and governance or inclusive development. Of the 500 entries received this year, the top 54 entries were selected by experts from development and technical sector. The 19 best ideas were shortlisted to pitch their innovation to an independent jury, based on which, six winners were selected.
This year the newly introduced category - 'Rural Innovations Award', seeks to extend opportunities to innovators from last mile communities and remote rural areas to build resilience to the social, economic and physical challenges that India is facing. Nominations were received from organizations and individuals who have the experience of working in remote rural areas and have engaged with young innovations communities, to bring to the forefront exemplary innovators who are working towards sustainable rural development.
Innovation is ingrained in 3M's DNA, and in 2014 it had instituted the Young Innovators Challenge in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) to create a forum to recognise innovative ideas having an impact on the community. The award offers a level-playing field to young innovators - from grassroot innovators right up to premier schools.
A part of the sustained support extended by 3M India, the winners are - given support and mentorship in areas like R&D, commercialisation etc. and also the opportunity to engage with Nobel scientists who visit India under the aegis of the Nobel Prize Series, of which 3M is an exclusive global partner.
Congratulating the winners and highlighting the need to innovate, Ms. Debarati Sen, Managing Director, 3M India, commented, "We have been present in India for 30 years now. India is among the fastest growing economies of the world and has emerged as a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. We are cognizant of the fact that our country's sustained development is attributed to constant innovation fuelled by the young population. Year on year, we receive path breaking ideas from youth innovators across the country who are focused on creating a better future for India, and through this 3M-CII Young Innovators Challenge, we seek to identify and support such young innovators."
"The new Rural Innovation category which we introduced this year has received a resounding response," she added.
The following are the winners and the runner up projects of the categories.
WINNING PROJECTS UNDER TECH-INNOVATION CATEGORY:
WINNER
Project Title: Barefoot Science Laboratories
Participant(s): Prayag Ichangimath and Durga Vaishnav, Barefoot College
Idea Summary: The innovation deals with a portable science laboratory that enables the rural children devoid of scientific knowledge to crack the code through hands-on activities in the form of guided tutorials and with strong practical assessments between 8-14 years of age.
RUNNER-UP
Project Title: TouchVision-Enabling Inclusive Education
Participant (s): Ankita Gulati, IIT Delhi
Idea Summary: Touch Vision is a multisensory inclusive education platform comprises of tactile diagrams - books, recreational material, storybooks and games assisted by simultaneous audios powered by the mobile app for visually impaired to inform the individual about the image that they are looking at.
WINNING PROJECTS UNDER RURAL-INNOVATION CATEGORY:
WINNER
Project Title: Panchayat Sikshan Kendra
Participant Name: Annu Shree Tiwari, SBI Youth for India
Idea Summary: Panchayat Sikshan Kendra is an attempt to resolve the gap in the education system on school level by empowering and sensitising Panchayats to take necessary interests and actions by setting up a sustainable model of an education centre that ensures the interest and connection of guardians with the child's education and progress.
RUNNER-UP
Project Title: BAANSULI (Bamboo Artisan Socio-Economic upliftment initiative)
Participant Name: Saloni Sacheti, SBI Youth For India
Idea Summary: BAANSULI focuses on promotion of Bamboo Jewelry, making it as a sustainable alternative livelihood for the Artisans of Dagadpada (a village in Dangs), a district in Gujrat facing severe water scarcity post monsoon. BAANSULI empowers and engages the tribals in production and marketing of hand-crafted bamboo jewellery.
WINNING PROJECTS UNDER SOCIAL-INNOVATION CATEGORY:
WINNER
Project Title: Child-standing Wheelchair
Participant (s): M. Naveen Kumar and P.L. Ramalingam, Panimalar Institute of Technology
Idea Summary: Child-standing Wheelchair is a replacement for the very expensive motorised standing wheelchair providing all the features at an affordable cost. The design has optimized armrest cuts for smoother adjustments, making it convenient for the user to switch positions.
RUNNER-UP
Project Title: Soy Protein - Making a difference
Participant Name: Shalmali Ghaisas, SBI Youth for India
Idea Summary: The idea is to promote the incorporation of soybean in the diet of tribal villagers, a cash crop grown in a quantity of 3 quintals with each farmer but previously not consumed in the tribal villages in Balwadi, Madhya Pradesh where the populace suffers from severe malnutrition.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Project Title: SteamIT
Participants: Sabari Prabaaker, Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology
Idea Summary: SteamIT is a portable steam based sanitization appliance for vendors where the street vendor can quickly cleanse a reusable plate before serving food thus reducing wastage of water and yet maintain utmost hygiene for customers.
About 3M India
At 3M, we apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily. With $32 billion in sales, our 91,000 employees connect with customers all around the world. Learn more about 3M's creative solutions to the world's problems at http://www.3M.com or on Twitter @3M or @3MNews.
About CII
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of India, partnering industry, Government, and civil society, through advisory and consultative processes. CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organization, playing a proactive role in India's development process. Founded in 1895, India's premier business association has over 8000 members, from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect membership of over 200,000 enterprises from around 240 national and regional sectoral industry bodies.
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