AICTE IDEA LAB
AICTE-IDEA (Idea Development, Evaluation & Application) Labs are being established across the country for encouraging students for application of science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) fundamentals towards enhanced hands-on experience, learning by doing and even product visualization. As a common facility embedded in the institution, the IDEA Lab will make engineering graduates more imaginative and creative, besides getting basic training in the 21st century skills like - critical thinking, problem solving, design thinking, collaboration, communication, lifelong learning etc. IDEA Lab can empower the students and faculty to “engage, explore, experience, express and excel”, addressing the need of new age learning. IDEA Lab would serve as an infrastructure for faculty to take up and promote multidisciplinary education and research. Accordingly, faculty would be encouraged to get trained in these Labs and strive for creating problems/ projects/ internships in their own subjects/ disciplines and mentor the students.
IDEA Lab will provide all facilities under one roof, for conversion of an idea into a prototype. The idea need not be always be new (which will always be encouraged) but the emphasis would be on graduating engineers working with their hands using equipment, tools and consumables. With these facilities available 24×7 in the campus, more students and faculty will be encouraged to take up creative work and, in the process, get training on creative thinking, problem solving, collaboration etc. which conventional labs are not focussing on. The focus will be on training students so that they become imaginative and creative and stay so at the workplaces they join. The ultimate objective is to transform engineering education with such a Lab in all colleges and for this they must proactively expose all students to the IDEA Lab, organize training sessions for interested students as well as support projects and by providing online learning materials.
The IDEA Lab envisions becoming a state-of-the-art, innovation-centric laboratory that enables engineering graduates to be more imaginative and creative while equipping them with transformative 21st-century skills. It seeks to promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship among students by bridging industry and academia in alignment with the mission of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The Lab will serve as a hub for nurturing creativity, fostering product development, and strengthening the innovation culture for the greater good of society.
The IDEA Lab offers significant benefits to both students and faculty by serving as a dynamic platform for innovation, prototyping, and entrepreneurship. For students, it enhances practical knowledge, provides opportunities for projects and internships, and prepares them to meet industry requirements through hands-on experience and exposure to multidisciplinary learning. Faculty members benefit through participation in research activities, industry interactions, and faculty development programs (FDPs), which strengthen academic and professional growth.
The Lab aims to evolve into a self-sustainable Centre of Excellence of International Repute in idea development, prototype design, evaluation, and application of technology for solving real-world problems in industry, academia, and society. By establishing advanced infrastructure and offering mentoring support, the IDEA Lab nurtures creativity and entrepreneurial potential among young engineering students. It also provides seed funding for early-stage startups, supporting the transformation of ideas into prototypes and the design of minimal viable products (MVPs).
Additionally, the IDEA Lab acts as a Technology Business Incubator, mentoring potential innovators, guiding them to convert ideas into market-ready products, and equipping them with technological inputs through time-bound, hands-on technical sessions. Overall, the IDEA Lab fosters innovation-driven education, encourages entrepreneurship, and contributes to the creation of job creators aligned with national and global requirements.
