Innovation,Design and Entrepreneurship (IDE) Bootcamp for Student Innovators and Teachers of Schools was held at Assam Don Bosco University on 9th and 10th April, 2024. On the first day, 9th April, the congregation was welcomed and introduced by Pushpanjalee Konwar. A brief message was given by the Chief Guest, Prof. Amarendra Kumar Das of IIT Guwahati on agricultural design and innovative ideas.After that Mayur Madhukar Borkar introduced the purpose of the bootcamp and its benefits for the participants.The first session was led by Dr. R. Sujatha,who divided the participants into 20 groups.She conducted group activities such as naming the groups and learning the names of the members within each group. She emphasized group formation to foster idea creation and connections among teams, including activities related to group creativity, innovation and design thinking. Guest Speakers Anabil Goswami and Arindom Hazarika shared their startup journeys, discussing the challenges they faced and the progress they achieved. They encouraged participants to embrace innovation and entrepreneurship.
The second day, 10th April,began with a session on Entrepreneurial Innovation: Discovering Opportunities” by Dr. R.Sujatha, where she provided a brief background on startups and entrepreneurship. Dr. Sumit Bhowmik spoke on “Development of Natural Resources-Based Products for Industrial 4.0.” He emphasized the importance of development across domains and highlighted the significance of biodegradable and environmentally friendly products as alternatives to plastic. Dr. R. Sujatha led a session on “Discovery Lab: Unveiling Customer Insights.” This session included a discussion on the benefits of understanding the market and solving customers’ problems. Participants engaged in a real-time experiment where they gathered customer desires, needs, and feedback. The central challenge of the bootcamp was an innovation challenge where participants worked in teams comprising new people. Over time, participants overcome this challenge as they developed mutual knowledge and rapport with each other. The two-day Innovation Bootcamp for student innovators and teachers proved to be a transformative experience, empowering participants to drive innovation and entrepreneurship. By providing a platform for collaboration, learning, and hands-on experimentation, the bootcamp set the stage for continued innovation and improvement among young minds and working professionals alike.