Higher Education Minister R V Deshpande made his first ever maiden visit to institution on Monday by paying a surprise visit to Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology (NMIT).
Deshpande interacted with students who had invented two prototypes of a small flexible car and a car in the suitcase.
Addressing the reporters, Deshpande said, “Every college should have an innovation club or department to encourage young talent in the field of research and innovation. There is a need to improve the quality of engineers instead of the number of engineers who are churned out of the institutions.”
He said, “The Higher Education Department will create a corpus fund of Rs 5 crore in the Visvesvaraya University of Technology to encourage young talent in innovation and research.”
The minister also announced a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh to students of NMIT for the invention and gave away appreciation certificates for their invention.