CHENNAI: In a move to help engineering students hone their entrepreneurial skills, the Tamil Nadu Higher Education Department has decided to set up Makers Space, an incubation cell-like platform, in select government engineering colleges soon.
According to officials, in the first phase Makers Space will be established with industry partners at government engineering colleges in Karaikudi, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli, Salem and Tamil Nadu Polytechnic College in Madurai. The facility will later be extended to other government colleges.
The cell will provide a platform to students with adequate facilities where they can work on innovative ideas and convert them into products. Faculty and industry experts will help the students channel their ideas in the right direction, be it in creating prototypes, experimental models, programmable or intelligent Internet of Things-enabled devices. The students will get an opportunity to explore their creativity and work on converting their innovative problem-solving ideas into reality, thereby becoming problem solvers.
“It is a forum for students and faculty members to apply personalised learning strategies and inherent skills for promoting creative ideas with practical knowledge. It will be a laboratory where students can manufacture their own prototypes or create software programmes using artificial intelligence and try to solve problems of the society. Adequate facilities and equipment will be provided in the Space so that students of all departments can work on their projects under one roof,” said an official of the Higher Education Department.
‘In 2-3 months, Makers Space will be ready’
The official added, “Work is already on and in next two-three months, Makers Space will be ready in all these government colleges.” The move will encourage students to think out of the box and provide them the right guidance to set up their own startup.
“As industry experts will also be part of this collaboration, our students will get ample support for their startup. If their innovation suits the needs of the industry then securing funds for their project will be no issue,” said a faculty of a government engineering college.