AHMEDABAD: In a field replete with incubators and start-up supporting programmes, how different can a course be? But for the past six years, the Invention Factory at Cooper Union — one of the top technological institutions of the US — has remained relevant for more than one reason.The professors associated with the initiative — Alan Wolf and Eric Lima — were on the IIT-Gandhinagar (IIT-Gn) campus for the first six-week course in India. They talked about the need for local innovations with global perspective.The duo, along with the team from IIT-Gn, is mentoring 10 two-member teams from five IITs to help make prototypes of products at the end of the course that will vie not only for the top prizes of Rs 2 lakh and Rs 1 lakh but also for filing of patents.“We start with a blank slate and motivate the students to think beyond their discipline,” said Prof Wolf.“It is not uncommon to find two students from totally different disciplines of engineering working on an idea not related to their field. We encourage students to seek solutions for real-life problems. While a team is working on a portable CPR device which can be operated by anyone, another is working on a project that will help prevent electrical fires.”How is the approach different from that of the US? Prof Lima said that in the Indian course, the focus is on issues such as agriculture. “Two projects aim to improve farming by better weeding technique and better irrigation,” he said. “While manual labour is not an issue in the US, here a team is working on a project where a carrier distributes load such as gunnysacks or stones equally on the back.”The duo added that it’s important to think in local terms. While paper bags can be made by machines much faster, one of the projects is aiming to help women who can produce the bags more efficiently in less time with a manually-operated machine.Brainstorming and constant evaluation by a panel of experts is an integral part of the initiative. “As the teams present their ideas and develop prototypes, they also realize the importance of a good pitch,” said Wolf. “They might have a great idea but if they cannot communicate properly, it may not get noticed. We are encouraging the students to encapsulate their ideas in 1-minute film.”Invention Factory in the US has been known for products such as paper coffee cup with foldable spill-proof lid, snip-it tape dispenser and rapid package container.A group consisting of IIT alumni was instrumental in bringing the programme to India. Ruyintan Mehta, an alumnus of IIT Bombay, said that the uniqueness of the programme lies in the approach.“This is the first programme of its kind in the US that takes engineering students for 6 weeks and trains them to invent,” he said.

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