DU’s CIC Applications: To Support Startup Entrepreneurs

Young innovators are welcome to submit applications for business ideas for mentorship through the Cluster Innovation Center (CIC) at the University of Delhi (DU). The CIC’s Design Innovation Center (DIC) will choose four or more business concepts with the potential for commercial success. Finalists will receive a setup at the CIC campus to work on their product development, expand their business, and change many people’s lives. DU’s CIC applications are still being accepted through March 13. The lab and library resources, as well as faculty and business professionals’ help, will be available to innovators.

The panel will choose an original idea that can be developed into a product or process and eventually into a company enterprise, although applicants do not need to have a certain academic degree or technical abilities.

“Startups are constantly searching for physical space that offers a setting for conversation and brainstorming to create their business concepts. Mentors will provide them with a fresh perspective on their creation, fostering multidisciplinary design, technology-focused innovation, and fostering creativity”, according to CIC director Shobha Bagai.

Young innovators have received support from CIC since 2015. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Businesses (MSME), Government of India, issued an invitation to submit the first round of startup ideas for funding in March 2015. Financing for at least seven company concepts in the amount of 4-6 lakhs was provided. Just support for infrastructure and prototype development was given to the remaining 8 firms; no money was given. Hence, 15 startup concepts in total were developed prior to the pandemic.

Because to the pandemic, the initiative was postponed; it was scheduled to resume in 2022. Two startup concepts were chosen by the CIC in July 2022. Sharad Kumar Nirala who is a startup candidate who studied history at Delhi University had the original concept. Indian Activated Agrifood Pvt. Ltd is the new name. A tech-enabled integrated online and offline ecosystem was developed by the startup to assist farmers in the village level with input procurement and primary processing. According to Bagai, this model aims to address the issues facing all significant participants in the rural economy.

Utkarsh Mittal, a BTech student from the CIC ITMI 2015-19 class, is employed by startup DeepLogic AI, a technology consulting company that specialises in developing applications with artificial intelligence (AI). The solution anticipates the adoption of AI in enterprises, opening up new business capabilities by streamlining operational procedures. According to Bagai, “the startup is working with another German startup in healthcare EDI to improve AI-tech skills in their business, resulting in material revenue increase and cost optimization.”

Innovators from all over India submitted over ten proposals, and two were chosen the previous year. These submissions were from kids with a range of educational experiences. Yet, Bagai said that not a single application was received from students who reside in rural India.

Infrastructure is being rebuilt, and innovation labs for the humanities, robotics, computational engineering, and other fields are being expanded. Accepting more submissions and creating more company ideas will benefit from this.

There is no provision for a stipend, but the chosen innovators will be coached to test business ideas and take part in seminars to speed up the product development process. The majority of beginning business owners receive government incentives, so they rarely need financial assistance. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and other related government departments provided assistance to the two firms that were incubated the previous year, according to Bagai. In order to extend the horizons of innovators, Bagai explains, “We want to hold workshops on intellectual property (IP) law, patent filing, logistics, and market value chain.”