An online platform for easy and fair transactions of used cars; a device that can transform the lives of autistic kids and their caregivers; and low-cost LCD glasses for those with low vision - these big ideas and their creators were feted at the Grand Finale of the Next Big Idea 2013, hosted by the NSRCEL at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB).
Ttatva Innovation Labs, comprising Naresh Khanduri, Ritwik Batabyal and Santosh, won the prestigious b-plan contest that had attracted 6,000 entries. Their project, CheckCar.in, that helps people make informed choices while buying/ selling cars fetched them the first prize - a purse of Rs 1.5 lakh.
Globsol, with Manoj Sanker and Mrinal Parekh, telecommunication students of PESIT, was declared the first runners-up and won Rs 1 lakh. Technology that aims to make life better for kids with autism and their caregivers is Globsol's guiding principle. They have developed a smart watch that helps parents monitor emotions of their children. The device also helps send an alarm to the parents' phone when the child experiences high levels of stress.
"This award is very very special to us because it says that we are being taken seriously finally," quipped 21-year-old Mrinal Parekh, adding, on a more serious note, that Next Big Idea 2013 provided a platform for young entrepreneurs to compete with the best.
The top two teams of the competition will participate in the Intel Global Challenge to be held at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkley.
Visionaries, the second runners-up, comprising Jairaj MV and Mukul Mohan, from IIT-Madras, won Rs 75,000 and the opportunity to participate in the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Contest in Taipei, Taiwan.
Mr S Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder and Vice Chairman of Infosys Ltd, who delivered the keynote address, emphasized the importance of startups, remarking that innovation and entrepreneurship were required now more than ever in India.
"I would like to congratulate all the participants and the winners of NBI 2013. I want to wish the winners all the very best for their respective global competitions and hope they create success stories that will inspire others," he said.
"Why not allow our students set up startups even as they pursue their college education? It could be a wonderful experiment," he said, highlighting the Kerala and Cochin universities had implemented the idea with the co-operation of the Kerala Government.
"India has a large local market. The deployment platform is mobile, cost is low, large local markets are available, venture funding is available... we should have more and more success stories emerging out of India and events like the Next Big idea are the perfect platforms for such success stories," he observed.
The National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) of the Department of Science & Technology, Govt of India, and Intel India, are the sponsors of Next Big Idea.
Ms Kumud N Srinivasan, President, Intel India, said: "Activities like the Next Big Idea celebrate the vision by providing a platform to start-ups where they can build ideas in to real businesses, thereby creating new wealth and employment for the nation and contributing to India's socio-economic development. We believe that this young brigade of passionate and innovative start-ups will bring the next revolution in the country and we are extremely excited to be part of this initiative."
Mr Harkesh Mittal, Secretary, Technology Development Board, Govt of India, spoke of the government's interest in promoting entrepreneurship and narrated the fascinating story of the winner of the first edition of the Intel Global Challenge - a manufacturer of real-looking artificial flowers - who went to Berkley to participate in the Intel Global Challenge and won it. "The flowers were made by fisherwomen in a remote village in Bihar who were deft at cutting and stitching fishing nets. By making flowers, they got to earn an extra Rs 300 a day. This is the transformative power of entrepreneurship," he said.
He also quoted statistics to show that India, over the last 40 years, never experienced negative growth. "The reason for this is that India has a large internal market that drives growth - a perfect place for young entrepreneurs," he added.
Prof Pankaj Chandra, Director, IIMB, said that an ecosystem of startups should be developed in such a way that the small firms grow while other small firms continue to innovate and provide innovative energy to large firms.
He emphasized the role of IIMB in building an innovation ecosystem of which academia, industry and government are three strong pillars while contributing to scholarship at one end and solving industry challenges as well.
Click here to view images of Grand Finale- NEXT Big Idea 2013
An online platform for easy and fair transactions of used cars; a device that can transform the lives of autistic kids and their caregivers; and low-cost LCD glasses for those with low vision - these big ideas and their creators were feted at the Grand Finale of the Next Big Idea 2013, hosted by the NSRCEL at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB).
Ttatva Innovation Labs, comprising Naresh Khanduri, Ritwik Batabyal and Santosh, won the prestigious b-plan contest that had attracted 6,000 entries. Their project, CheckCar.in, that helps people make informed choices while buying/ selling cars fetched them the first prize - a purse of Rs 1.5 lakh.
Globsol, with Manoj Sanker and Mrinal Parekh, telecommunication students of PESIT, was declared the first runners-up and won Rs 1 lakh. Technology that aims to make life better for kids with autism and their caregivers is Globsol's guiding principle. They have developed a smart watch that helps parents monitor emotions of their children. The device also helps send an alarm to the parents' phone when the child experiences high levels of stress.
"This award is very very special to us because it says that we are being taken seriously finally," quipped 21-year-old Mrinal Parekh, adding, on a more serious note, that Next Big Idea 2013 provided a platform for young entrepreneurs to compete with the best.
The top two teams of the competition will participate in the Intel Global Challenge to be held at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkley.
Visionaries, the second runners-up, comprising Jairaj MV and Mukul Mohan, from IIT-Madras, won Rs 75,000 and the opportunity to participate in the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Contest in Taipei, Taiwan.
Mr S Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder and Vice Chairman of Infosys Ltd, who delivered the keynote address, emphasized the importance of startups, remarking that innovation and entrepreneurship were required now more than ever in India.
"I would like to congratulate all the participants and the winners of NBI 2013. I want to wish the winners all the very best for their respective global competitions and hope they create success stories that will inspire others," he said.
"Why not allow our students set up startups even as they pursue their college education? It could be a wonderful experiment," he said, highlighting the Kerala and Cochin universities had implemented the idea with the co-operation of the Kerala Government.
"India has a large local market. The deployment platform is mobile, cost is low, large local markets are available, venture funding is available... we should have more and more success stories emerging out of India and events like the Next Big idea are the perfect platforms for such success stories," he observed.
The National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) of the Department of Science & Technology, Govt of India, and Intel India, are the sponsors of Next Big Idea.
Ms Kumud N Srinivasan, President, Intel India, said: "Activities like the Next Big Idea celebrate the vision by providing a platform to start-ups where they can build ideas in to real businesses, thereby creating new wealth and employment for the nation and contributing to India's socio-economic development. We believe that this young brigade of passionate and innovative start-ups will bring the next revolution in the country and we are extremely excited to be part of this initiative."
Mr Harkesh Mittal, Secretary, Technology Development Board, Govt of India, spoke of the government's interest in promoting entrepreneurship and narrated the fascinating story of the winner of the first edition of the Intel Global Challenge - a manufacturer of real-looking artificial flowers - who went to Berkley to participate in the Intel Global Challenge and won it. "The flowers were made by fisherwomen in a remote village in Bihar who were deft at cutting and stitching fishing nets. By making flowers, they got to earn an extra Rs 300 a day. This is the transformative power of entrepreneurship," he said.
He also quoted statistics to show that India, over the last 40 years, never experienced negative growth. "The reason for this is that India has a large internal market that drives growth - a perfect place for young entrepreneurs," he added.
Prof Pankaj Chandra, Director, IIMB, said that an ecosystem of startups should be developed in such a way that the small firms grow while other small firms continue to innovate and provide innovative energy to large firms.
He emphasized the role of IIMB in building an innovation ecosystem of which academia, industry and government are three strong pillars while contributing to scholarship at one end and solving industry challenges as well.
Click here to view images of Grand Finale- NEXT Big Idea 2013