Global Innovation challenges-1: a call for creative connections with children, youth and women When any society learns to live with solvable problems by reinforcing inertia, indifference and also internalizing helplessness, then imagination gets stifled first. Once imagination gets constrained, innovations are unlikely to follow. UNICEF and SRISTI have joined hands to announce a global challenge…
In a diverse civilizational society, it is inevitable that one would find multiple perspectives on the concept of nationhood. To expect uniformity, would be to kill the source of sustainability: that is diversity. The real tension begins when we start measuring and monitoring the boundary of the diversity. How much latitude different groups should have…
When society gives big mandates to parties and social standpoints, it also expects magnanimity and inclusiveness in the same measure. I want to list some of the reforms that are crying for implementation in the larger institutional interest of an inclusive society. For a long time, we have been trying to universalise the benefits of food security,…
I happened to meet several groups of young students and scholars in NIT and IIT’s during last week. One of the concern I have is that large number of very bright young technological and management students ( science students seem to suffer less from this problem) get easily distracted by messages and notifications on which…
SRISTI and BIRAC-DBT (http://www.birac.nic.in/desc_new.php?id=98) have decided to facilitate the Innovations by students and support value addition by students in grassroots innovations and outstanding traditional knowledge. The purpose is to support early stage student led ideas and innovations even at proof of concept level for recognition and further development in the field of medical devices, diagnostics,…
SRISTI celebrates the creativity and innovation of young technological students by recognising their outstanding projects with Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Awards. These awards are given every year during the Festival of Innovation (FOIN) at Rashtrapati Bhawan in the month of March. Next year, these awards are due tentatively on March 5, 2017 at FOIN.…
When unsung grassroots innovators from different parts of the country stay as a guest of the Hon’ble President of India as a part of Innovation Scholar-in-residence, a small statement is made about Indian value system. There are not too many countries where the Office of the Head of the State hosts a Festival of Innovation at Rashtrapati Bhawan. This journey of creative children, students and farmers and artisans over the last 26 years has been steered by the Honey Bee Network, thanks to the patronage of the last three presidents of our country.
The desire for reforms and policy redesign at much faster pace than is the case just now is growing in society. The impatience with inertia is a good sign and public policy makers must take that as a positive sign. Without a set of demanding clients, no institution can pursue continuous innovation. How to institutionalise…