CHENNAI: The Indian Institute of Technology – Madras held an exhibition showcasing models on ‘Start-up solutions for sustainability challenges’ for engineering students of various institutions here on Saturday.
The event was an initiative by PALS, an alumnus of IIT-M, which aims to augment the quality of engineering education in participating colleges. This initiative extends its reach to numerous institutions across Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala, from where the students had participated.
Hence, this year the event PALS 23-24 was named ‘innoWAH’, a competition for engineering students of many institutions to conceptualise, design, and create prototypes of their ideas. And, for this year, over 140 entries were received.
Also, participants had undergone year-long interventions comprising grooming, mentoring, and evaluation. “This process culminated in the selection of 68 innovative start-up solutions address sustainability challenges,” stated the press note from IIT-M. The first place in each of these groups was bagged by Velalar College of Engineering and Technology, Vivekananda College of Engineering for Women, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, KG Reddy College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, and Kalaignar Karunanidhi Institute of Technology, Coimbatore.
Mohan Narayanan, PALS member, highlighted that the event has enabled students to think like entrepreneurs. “Knowing your customer is paramount, and students were tasked with uncovering this essential aspect early on to ensure their solutions aligned with the market needs,” he added.