Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) has introduced a significant academic reform by requiring students to build a working prototype to earn the course credit attached to its innovation and design thinking subject.

The move aims to strengthen the practical learning component, which university officials say has too often been treated as a formality.

Under the revised approach, students must identify a real-world problem and develop a design in the first semester, then transform that concept into a functioning prototype in the second semester.

Previously, the subject, which is offered in the first and second semesters of engineering degrees, carried one credit per term but typically lacked rigorous performance expectations, leading some affiliated colleges to award credits without substantial student work, the Times of India reports.

University vice-chancellor S Vidyashankar said that the new requirement is intended to foster authentic engagement with innovation.

To ensure that students adhere to the revised criteria, VTU plans to launch a mobile application where learners must upload ongoing photographs and videos of their projects. Faculty members will be able to monitor progress in real time and evaluate students at different stages of prototype development.

A pilot phase of the model is already underway at four regional centres and three constituent colleges, involving about 2,000 students working in teams on projects ranging from agricultural solutions to urban-mobility challenges. These efforts will be exhibited at an Open Day on 28 February, where principals from affiliated institutions are expected to observe and potentially replicate the initiative on their own campuses.

In a related development, VTU has announced it will introduce Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) into its curriculum from next year, under a partnership with UK-based Chiac ASI.

The collaboration is designed to equip students and educators with cutting-edge skills: more than 1,000 students will receive internships and lecturers will be provided with self-updating textbooks.