Nagaland University holds interaction with IIC officials

DIMAPUR — Nagaland University, Kohima campus, on November 1 held an interaction session with officials from Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC) namely Yogesh D Brahmankar, innovation director at Innovation Cell (MIC), Government of India; Dr. Hirak Ranjan Das, innovation manager at AICTE; and Ashish Tripathi, regional coordinator at AICTE Innovation Cell, Guwahati.

An update from the university stated that its pro vice-chancellor, Prof. N Venuh, and the Dean of School of Engineering and Technology (SET), Prof. Sujata Dash, welcomed the guests and briefed them on the various innovation, incubation and entrepreneurial activities being carried out by the Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC) at Nagaland University.

They have also highlighted the initiatives undertaken to promote creativity among students, participation in innovation challenges and awareness programmes on intellectual property rights and start-up culture.

It stated that the visiting dignitaries have appreciated the efforts of the university in fostering a vibrant innovation ecosystem and encouraged faculty and students to actively engage in national programmes such as the Smart India Hackathon (SIH), KAPILA for patent awareness, MIC–IIC–YUKTI portal, AICTE’s IMPACT programme and other AICTE schemes for funding, internships and start-up support.

They also emphasised the importance of organising boot camps, school handholding activities and promoting the use of the AICTE APNA career portal to enhance student employability and exposure.

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It stated that IIC guests elaborately explained the various AICTE and IIC schemes available for higher educational institutions, particularly those in the north eastern region. They discussed in detail the opportunities provided through the AICTE internship portal, student start-up policy, national innovation and start-up policy (NISP) framework and the mentor–mentee scheme. They also highlighted initiatives such as SPICES, IDEA Lab, E-Learning Centres, and Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACIC), which aim to strengthen innovation infrastructure in universities.

They made special mention of the supportive provisions and financial incentives available to north eastern universities including dedicated funding windows, capacity-building workshops and priority mentoring through IIC Guwahati regional office.

It mentioned that the guests from AICTE–IIC Guwahati have assured continued guidance and collaboration with Nagaland University to enhance participation in national-level innovation activities and to establish a stronger linkage with industry and start-up ecosystems.

The session concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by the convener, who expressed gratitude to the visiting dignitaries for their detailed presentations, encouragement and commitment to supporting innovation growth in Nagaland University and other institutions of the north eastern region.