Anant National University in Ahmedabad on February 12 inaugurated a Tinkering Lab – a workspace for students to learn, experiment and develop their ideas into prototypes.
The Tinkering Lab is a part of Aarambh, the recently established incubation centre of the university. The Lab, with a multidisciplinary workshop and specialised studios, aims to nurture innovation and build a problem-solving mindset among the students. It comprises equipment like laser cutting machines, 3D Printers, Zigsaw, Arduino kits, soldering station and much more. The lab is intended to be a fully functional student-run facility set up in the student housing facility, allowing 24-hour access to students.
“Today, everything starts with an idea. It is first conceived in the thinker’s mind, conceptualised on the ground level, experimented in a confined setup and then rolled out in the real world. Ideas have become the building unit of our society, and the tinkering lab will be instrumental in giving such ideas a concrete shape and contribute meaningfully,” said M Nagarajan, higher education commissioner of Gujarat, who inaugurated the lab.
A total of 27 teams of students who have received Proof of Concept or Prototype support for their innovative projects from Aarambh were felicitated during the lab’s inauguration.
Speaking on the launch of the Lab, Anunaya Chaubhey, provost, Anant National University, said, “Experiential learning is an integral part of the governing pedagogy at our university. Tinkering Lab will be a space for students, fellows and innovators to give shape to their ideas. Along with entrepreneurial thinking, this lab will also help students learn collaboration, so they can adopt a holistic approach to build sustainable solutions.”
Aarambh promotes entrepreneurship culture by offering various platforms to budding entrepreneurs, and facilitating mentorship from recognised entrepreneurs, interactions with investors, government and non-government agencies.
In future, the incubation centre plans to develop co-working spaces, conduct capacity building programmes, industrial visits, ideation workshops and organise a national-level idea contest.