Regular Assemblies

Dates: 22.6.23-26.6.23 (5 days residential)
Venue: NITTTR, Chandigarh
Attendees: Ms. Surabhi Bhargav, PGT-Physics & ATL I/C
Rehan Saifi XII-C and Anushka Bhargava XI-B

The Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Education and AICTE organized a five-days’ bootcamp on ‘Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship (IDE)’ from 22th June till 26rd June 2023. This boot camp was an excellent platform for the participants to get trained & work in a mentored atmosphere and get opportunity to interact with ecosystem enablers.

It is a matter of great pride that DPS, Mathura Road was selected for this prestigious bootcamp. Our allocated centre was NITTTR, Chandigarh.

(Participants with School Principal, Ms. Reema Sharma)
(Participants at NITTTR, Chandigarh)

DAY 1:

The first day of the Bootcamp has been very interactive and exciting, we did many activities related to design thinking, and our facilitator for the first session was Dr. R. Sujatha (Principal- Entrepreneur Education, Wadhwani Entrepreneur, WF). The second session was- Understanding needs of the User-Ergonomics evaluation and Testing by Mr. Vineet Raj Kapoor (Director, SXILL / Chandigarh Design School). Post lunch session was- Deliver Delightful CX-Basics of product engineering, product design and development by Mr. Sangh Priya Siddhartha Rahi (Product Designer, PAYTM). The IDE Bootcamp was inaugurated by Hon. Minister of Education, Sh. Dharmesh Pradhan at COEP Technological University, Pune. All other centres attended it virtually and the Hon. Minister interacted with students at all centres.

DAY 2:

It began with Mr. Abhishek Ranjan, the Innovation Officer from the Ministry of Education's Innovation Cell, and Dr. R. Sujatha from the Wadhwani Foundation recapping Day 1 and setting the objectives for Day 2. Following that, Dr. Ruchi Gautam Pant, a Consultant from Wadhwani Entrepreneur, emphasized the importance of empathizing with the people whose problems we are trying to solve. Without this empathy, we would not create something that people truly need, but rather something we assume they need. She then proceeded to discuss the Design Thinking process in problem-solving contexts, which includes five steps: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Next, Mr. Amandeep Srivastava, the Head of the Startup Cell at IITI DRISHTI CPS Foundation and a Climate Action Specialist from the Observer Research Foundation, conducted a session on the Entrepreneurial Journey and finding the right path to building a startup. During this session, participants learned about the hardships, problems, and mistakes faced along this journey. Dr. R. Sujatha, the Principal of Entrepreneur Education at Wadhwani Entrepreneur, then took the stage to discuss Understanding Markets, Segments, and Market Estimation, focusing on niche markets.

Following that, Er. Amardev Singh, Assistant Professor from NITTTR Chandigarh, shared insights from the design process to arrive at ideal solutions. Dr. Ruchi Gautam Pant delivered another excellent session, this time focusing on the Design Thinking approach to understanding customers and creating customer personas. In the last session of the day, Gautam Sharma, the Founder of Surya Enviro & Surya Chemicals, spoke about Innovation for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The day concluded with a Product Design Pitch opportunity for the participants, who were filled with excitement and participated enthusiastically.

DAY 3:

It began with a recap of Day 2 and setting the objectives for Day 3, led by Mr. Abhishek Ranjan Kumar, the Innovation Officer from MIC, and Dr. R. Sujatha, the Principal of Entrepreneur Education at Wadhwani Foundation.

The first session of the day was conducted by Dr. R. Sujatha, focusing on how to craft a value proposition to build differentiation for your startup. Following that, Ms. Anubhi Khandelwal, the Founder of Terafac Technologies, conducted a session on building our startup's competitive advantage. We were then introduced to business models in a session led by Dr. Ruchi Gautam Pant, which was highly informative. Shortly after, Dr. Pradeep Joshi, the Group Additional Pro Vice Chancellor, conducted a session on ergonomics in product design and development. In the next session, we worked on designing a lean canvas, guided by Dr. Ruchi Gautam Pant. Lastly, Dr. Harsh Vardhan Samalia, an Associate Professor at NITTTR Chandigarh, spoke about design thinking strategies for innovation and business success.

At the end of the day, there was a product design pitch opportunity for students to present their product ideas.

DAY 4:

On Day-4, we had an Expert session on Story Branding for Pitch Deck by Mr. Gaurav Bikram Founder & CEO at BuyLowcal, an Overview of Grants & Funding opportunities for student start-ups by Prof. SK Dhameja, NITTTR Chandigarh, and last but not least, International Markets (Identifying and investing in the right Channels, Brand and Product Marketing & Envisage market position & implementation market penetration strategy) by Mr. Joseph Jude (CTO - Net Solutions, Coach. Podcast Host).

On Day 4 and Day 5, we had pitch presentations in front of 3 potential investors in each panel. DAY 5:

On Day-5, we had two sessions viz. The Art of Storytelling in Marketing by Ms. Mehakdeep Kaur CEO of 99beagles, and Fundraising Strategies for Early-Stage Start-ups: Approaches and Best Practices by Mr. Vineet Khurana CEO of Start-up Accelerator Chamber of Commerce.

Our school pitched our idea to the investors on Day 5, some pictures are attached below:

It has been such an amazing experience and opportunity to attend this Bootcamp. We learned a lot during these five days and are looking forward to applying the things we learnt about entrepreneurship, design thinking, and innovation in the future. It has been a great exposure for us to express our talents and ideas, we have also got a chance to network and learn about what ideas people have. We are extremely grateful to the innovation officer of MIC Mr. Abhishek Ranjan and NITTTR, Chandigarh for organizing and managing the bootcamp and providing us such an enterprising platform.

No words can suffice to thank our School Principal, Ms. Reema Sharma and the school management for supporting this endeavor wholeheartedly and encouraging us at every point.