Startup Activities
AICTE School Innovation Contest – Day 1 Mentoring Session Report
Day 1 of the three-day boot camp opened with a State Inauguration led by Chief Guest Mr. Rajashekaran Ethiraju (Director – Technology, Verizon), with dignitaries from NHCE, Wadhwani Foundation, and AICTE emphasizing teachers’ role in early-stage innovation under NEP 2020.
The day’s core sessions, led by Wadhwani Foundation mentors, covered:
- Design thinking foundations — mapping real-world school problems and spotting innovation gaps
- Problem statement refinement — using case studies to sharpen vague ideas into actionable ones
- Customer discovery lab — persona building and interview simulations to test assumptions
- National innovation initiatives (DoSEL, MoE) overview
- Campus tours of NHCE’s Incubation Centre and Center of Excellence
Outcome: Teams left with a clearer, structured approach to innovation and strong engagement throughout, well-documented with photos.
