Jain University in association with JGI Ventures organised a business incubation competition at the JGI Campus recently.

The initiative was open to students and faculty from engineering colleges across Bengaluru. The objective was to identify an idea for incubation and commercialisation. Around 80 entries were received (of which 58 were approved to compete) from the participants. These ideas included energy and sustainability, sustainable development, healthcare, traffic management, clean energy, agriculture, nano and novel materials to the IoT (Internet of Things).

One of the ideas that was recognised for its potential related to ‘Diagnostic Technology’. Students of RVCE College proposed the idea to build a device called ‘Lab-on-a-chip’ as a solution to laboratory functions. The device is capable of integrating one or several laboratory functions on a single chip only millimeters to a few square centimeters in size. LoCs deal with the handling of extremely small fluid volumes of less than pico litres. Lab-on-a-chip devices are a subset of MEMS devices and sometimes called 'Micro Total Analysis Systems'. LoCs are, as of today, used only in chemical analysis methods. This project involves integration of a conventional LoC with advanced nano materials that are involved in nano sensors. It can also help in building electronic circuitry to collect data from the analysis.

The panelists felt the idea had the potential to plug the gap in large-scale diagnostic facilities in the world. They agreed that the virtual non-existence of such facilities could be the driving force to commercialise the device. Also, the ease of use of such a device would allow it to be almost universally accepted.

Aditya A from the RV College of Engineering, a member of one of the winning teams, said such competitions help students innovate and look at problem solving through a different lens.

Five winners were selected and were awarded a cash prize of Rs 25,000. The participants proposed solutions to a range of real-world problems, which could be addressed with technologies such as image-processing, composite materials, swarm technologies and others.

The panel of judges included Dinesh Ramegowda, Senior Manager for R&D, Amazon; Sai Prasad, retired senior scientist, ISRO; Hulakund, Deputy General Manager, Agni Motors; and Mamatha from Wuerth Elektronik India. Further, senior professors from the School of Engineering and Technology, Jain University, were also members of the panel. The evaluation criteria were detailed covering various aspects of ideation, product, marketing and other relevant parameters.

The shortlist was drawn up in two rounds. Firstly, 50 entries were shortlisted into 12 by a group of 3-5 panelists. And finally, the top 12 ideas were once again presented to the entire panel, who shortlisted the top five ideas.

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