IIT Kharagpur is ready with the DIY Laboratory to inculcate innovation spirit among the first-year undergraduate students through the concept of Do-It-Yourself. The Lab which is located in J C Bose complex was inaugurated on October 22 by Prof. Sriman Kumar Bhattachayya, Officiating Director.
This lab will act as a playground for technical work where instruments and consumables can be accessed in domains of electrical, mechanical and electronics engineering. To begin with 350 first year students will be working on projects selected by students. Students will be supported by technical staff and senior students who will act as design mentors and guide them in their projects.
The initiative will be led by Prof. Vikranth Racherla of the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, who has recently launched the indigenous Make-in-India electric auto DESHLA.
We will start with first-year undergraduate students but moving on the lab will be accessible to all. There will be some fixed slots for 1st year undergraduate students and some open slots where anyone can walk in and work. Projects can be selected by the students – said Prof. Racherla.
Every semester some selected faculty members will be associated with the lab. In the upcoming semester around ten faculty members will join the lab from various disciplines.
The students will be working towards independent product innovations. They will have access to facilities and multidisciplinary guidance and technical assistance to reach their goals – added Prof. Racherla.
The activities were spearheaded by a Committee under the mentorship of the Deputy Director. The committee included Prof. Racherla from Mechanical Engineering, Prof. Debalay Chakrabarti, Dept. of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Prof. Nilanjan Mitra, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Prof. Santanu Kapat. Dept. of Electrical Engineering (former faculty member), Prof. Sandeep Saha, Dept of Aerospace Engineering, Prof. Chirag Kalelkar, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering among others. Several other faculty members will be part of this initiative.
Another lab going to be launched soon where Bioscience activities will be taken up confirmed Prof. Sriman Bhattachayya.
The country is aiming to develop manufacturing hubs to pick up pace in the industrial sector. IIT Kharagpur has taken leadership role in eastern India to support MSMEs and industry leaders in advanced manufacturing and healthcare technology commercialization. We are creating an ecosystem towards this and this would also involve inspiring the next generation of innovators who would take off their flight from tinkering laboratories such as the IIT Kharagpur DIY Lab – opined Prof. Bhattachayya.
