The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has launched a nationwide Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship (IDE) Bootcamp to train 1,500 education officers across 21 states and Union Territories in innovation-led teaching and capacity building.
Virtually inaugurated on October 31 by AICTE Chairman Prof T G Sitharam, Vice-Chairman Dr Abhay Jere, and Mr Deeraj Sahu, Additional Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, the initiative is being rolled out in three phases — with seven locations covered in the first, and the next two scheduled for early and mid-November.
The IDE Bootcamps are being jointly organised by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell (MIC), Department of School Education and Literacy, NCERT, School Innovation Council, and the Wadhwani Foundation. The programme adopts a human-centred approach to design thinking, with case studies, discussions, and visits to innovation hubs.
Speaking at the central launch, Prof Sitharam described education officers as “change agents”, urging them to “sow the seeds of innovation among students” and help create “job givers, not job seekers”. He emphasised that design thinking will be crucial to achieving Viksit Bharat, the national vision for a developed India.
The Telangana leg of the bootcamp was inaugurated at Vardhaman College of Engineering near Shamshabad, chosen as the state’s nodal centre for its strong innovation and incubation infrastructure. Over 80 participants attended, including District Education Officers (DEOs), District Science Officers (DSOs), and faculty from District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs).
At the event, Samagra Shiksha Joint Director P Rajeev highlighted India’s global technological contributions, while experts from the Wadhwani Foundation discussed their role in fostering start-ups and job creation.
Prof JVR Ravindra, Principal and Nodal Centre Head, urged institutions to “transform classrooms into hubs of innovation,” noting that the college has already incubated 30 to 40 start-ups, many now generating revenue.
