National Institute of Technology

Jun 28, 2023

NITC grabs eighth position in National Innovation Ranking

The only NIT in India that enters the list of top 10 rank holders

Setting a new benchmark for innovations, the National Institute of Technology Calicut has secured 8th position in the Innovation Ranking among all technical and engineering institutions across India. NIT Calicut is the only NIT among 31 NITs in the country to find a place in the first ten institutions included in the Innovation Ranking.

NITC has so far received 25 patents and five trademarks and copyright certifications for students and faculty innovations, said Dr. Prasad Krishna, Director, NITC. The institute has also filed 14 patent applications for student innovation projects completed during 2022-23, he added.

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) has selected NITC for the eighth rank considering the student and faculty innovations, entrepreneurship and start-up initiatives, patents and collaborative activities.

NITC has also signed 32 MoUs to promote collaborative activities with industries and higher learning institutions, said the Director. Teamwork of students, faculty, staff, alumni and incubatees associating with the Institute Innovation Council, Patent Cell, Design Innovation Centre and Technology Business Incubator (TBI) of NITC resulted in the 8th rank after seven IITs, added Dr. Prasad Krishna.

The efforts of NITC to help students shape their future during their academic period has played an important role in helping the Institute to find a commendable position in the Innovation Ranking. As many as 43 innovative projects by students mentored by faculty were selected by NITC in 2022-23 alone for funding and support. The Institute has also conducted an expo of student innovations to give exposure to their products and prototypes.

The student innovation schemes also resulted in three start-up initiatives in the last academic year apart from patents and publications. These Start-ups make use of the TBI and its facility on the campus to develop their products and prototypes. As many as 64 start-up companies have already graduated from TBI at NITC and 23 companies are in the incubation stage.

The funding for the innovation projects is provided with support from Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Department of Science and Technology, NIDHI-Promotion and Acceleration of Young and Aspiring technology entrepreneurs (NIDHI-PRAYAS) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The institute also conducted 37 training programmes for faculties, entrepreneurs, industrialists and students for their knowledge enhancement and skill development to promote innovation.

According to the faculty members of the institute, NITC has been initiating a series of innovative programmes focusing on innovation projects since 2015. “We have been constantly working on mindset development among students and faculty, infrastructure on the campus for supporting innovation, start-ups, patents and its commercialization, collaboration with other Incubation units and introducing courses in entrepreneurship and innovation-related subjects,” they added.

Director Prof. Prasad Krishna, Deputy Director Prof. Sathidevi P S and Prof. Ashok S (Chairman, Centre for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Incubation) interacting with the students during the exhibition of students' innovative projects.

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