Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana Jr College, Pune, declared 2nd runner-up at ‘Teenovators 2015’

Teenovators aims at bringing out and nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship in young adults

Manipal, February 1, 2016:  Teenovators 2015 – A national level competition for next-gen innovators by Manipal University and INK, announced the three winning innovations at the grand finale at Manipal Institute of Technology today. The project ‘Cloneator’ by Airforce School Hebbal, Bangalore won the prestigious title of ‘Teenovator of the Year’ and was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 5,00,000.  Projects ‘Piezoelectric power generation in trains’ by Garden High International School, Kolkata and ‘Plant growth using electromagnetic waves’ by Bharatiya Jain Sanghatan, Pune were the other two winners who were awarded Rs. 3,00,000 and 1,00,000 respectively. Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana Jr College, Pune, studied plant growth using electromagnetic waves.  The students conducted a study on this subject and proposed possible recommendations for controlling crop growth with electromagnetism.

Consolation prizes were awarded to St Columba’s school, Delhi for their project ‘Microcontrolled Farming Solution’ and Iqbalia International School, Hyderabad for ‘Addressing iron deficiency among women’. The teams were rewarded Rs. 50,000 each.

The Winning team, Air Force School, Hebbal Bangalore’s ‘Cloneator’ clones the action of his master and works on the principle of one robot cloning another control robot. With their cloneator, their aim is to replace humans with robots in breathtaking, risky jobs.

The first runner-up, Garden High International School, Kolkata’s project uses Piezoelectric power generation in trains to generate sufficient power to light up the train compartments. The piezoelectric materials are fixed in shock absorbers and coupling dampers of a train and converting the electric signals thus produced.

The grand finale saw top eight teams battle it out to win the coveted title, ‘Teenovator of the Year’. The prototypes developed by these teams aimed at solving complex world problems with simple solutions. The winners were judged on 5 parameters – Novelty of Project Idea; Solution Recommended; Scale of Impact; Replicability, and Students’ Involvement and Understanding.

Manipal University – the pioneer for providing world-class education and INK – India’s foremost platform for the exchange of cutting-edge ideas and inspiring stories, set out on a journey to find India’s brightest next-gen innovators and launched ‘Teenovators 2015’. The team travelled to eight cities –Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chandigarh, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai, and received tremendous response from 400+ schools.

Dr. Kiran Datar, Former Advisor of National Knowledge Commission, Govt. of India, Dr. Maulishree Agrahari, CEO, ICT Skills Development Society, Govt. of Karnataka and Mr. Anand Gandhi, Film Maker and Screen Writer, graced the event with their presence.

Addressing the audience at the event, Dr. Kiran Datar, Former Advisor of National Knowledge Commission, Govt. of India said, “Our priority in education today should be to nurture innovative thinking and practices in young minds. The Teenovators program provides opportunities, mentoring, and support for students to develop an innovative mindset.”

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Maulishree Agrahari, CEO, ICT Skills Development Society, Govt. of Karnataka said, “The human mind has limitless power. The boundaries we see are often self-imposed. I believe there is nothing a person cannot do if he or she really commits to it. That’s why I like the Teenovators program; it encourages students to think beyond their boundaries and begin achieving whatever they decide to do.”

Expressing their delight on the win, Ashish from Airforce School Hebbal, Bangalore said, “We are thrilled to have won first place at Teenovators 2015. Our leanings during the Program have motivated us to implement our solution in the real world. Teenovators 2015 has been a great learning experience and a great platform to showcase our innovation and ideas. We thank team Teenovators for giving us this opportunity to learn and innovate.”

“We at INK have always believed in nurturing young minds. We are impressed with the solutions that we have seen during the course of the Teenovators Program. This platform has brought to light budding talent from across the country and has helped cultivate entrepreneurship at a young age,” said Lakshmi Pratury, Founder & CEO, INK.

“Teenovators is a signature event of Manipal University, with the singular purpose of fostering, encouraging and recognizing research and innovation in much younger student bodies. The wealth of these innovations is what will drive India’s knowledge economy. We at Manipal University hope to contribute to this growth through an innovative learning environment in our campus & initiatives like Teenovators across the nation,” said Dr Vinod Bhat, Vice Chancellor, Manipal University.

Launched in June 2015, Teenovators had four levels of challenges for participating schools. As a pre-qualifier, all students in these schools had to participate in the Innovation Challenge which tested their problem solving, lateral thinking and analytical skills.

Every school was asked to select a team of 5 students from among the toppers in Innovation Challenge and provide them with a faculty guide. This team was asked to come up with a project and submit a synopsis outlining the problem area and recommend an innovative solution for the Preliminary Challenge. The subject areas for the project came from Behavioral & Social Sciences, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Sciences and Life Sciences.

The toppers of the Preliminary Challenge were moved to Intercity Challenge. Top final 8 teams shortlisted in theIntercity Challenge attended the Grand Finale in Manipal to compete for the prestigious TEENOVATOR of the Yearaward and win cash prizes.

About INK

INK is India’s foremost platform for the exchange of cutting-edge ideas and inspiring stories. Based out of Bangalore, India, INK is known for events such as the annual INK Conference, INK Asia, and INK Salons. Video releases from live events are available at inktalks.com. Beyond live events, INK is a community that transforms imagination to impact, as demonstrated by programs such as INK Fellows and INK Makers.

About Manipal University

Manipal University is one of the best private universities in Karnataka located in Manipal. The University is synonymous with excellence in higher education. Over 28,000 students from 57 nationalities live, learn and play in the sprawling University town. It also has nearly 2500 faculty teaching in various professional institutions in health sciences, engineering, management, communication and humanities which dot the Campus. http:/www.manipal.edu