Innovators turn teachers
GTU will provide grassroots innovators a platform to pass on their skills to students; to award innovators with teacher’s certificates
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Thursday, March 14, 2013
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Thursday, March 14, 2013
(http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/201303142013031400444446257ed360/Innovators-turn-teachers.html)
University students will soon learn the basics of innovation from the innovators themselves. In a novel development, Gujarat Technological University has decided to provide a platform to grassroots innovators to pass on their skills to its students. This will help the students better understand the problems of the rural masses and use technology to better use in making products for them.
As per the plan, GTU will provide these innovators with a teacher’s certificate. The certificate will entitle them to pass on their knowledge to students. In this regard, GTU has organised a programme on March 25 in Gandhinagar, where around 15 grassroots innovators will be awarded teacher’s certificates. The certificates will enable them to impart lessons in innovations to GTU students, provided they have .
A function was organised by L E Engineering College in Morbi on Wednesday where a grassroots innovator, Mansukh Prajapati, was invited as the chief guest. Mirror talked to Prajapati, he said, “It is an unforgettable experience. I have just cleared class 10, but highly-educated technocrats had something to learn from me. Grassroots innovators can better understand problems and complexities of rural masses.”
Avinash Tiwari, an electrical engineering student in semester 6 said, “I am impressed by his (Prajapati’s) example. He has done so much for the masses. His life is an example for others to emulate.” Grass roots innovators could be even invited by IIM, NID, etc to guide their students.
GTU is first technological university to initiate this mission. There are also plans to invite them to engineering, MBA, MCA, Pharmacy institutes. Students and teachers listen to them and learn from them. Besides they would be helped to scale up their ideas, so that their products go far and wide.
According to GTU VC Akshai Aggarwal, “This provides a two-way advantage. They gain from our support and our students gain from their innovative spirit. We are preparing a list of grassroots innovators. They would be provided with certificates which would mention, ‘We appreciate the innovative work done by (Name) and this innovation has been presented to GTU students and this interaction with innovators has helped improve learning system at GTU.”
Aggarwal added, “These innovators would teach and ease the teacher’s burden. They would be paid as per visiting faculty. However, their selection will be made on the merit of their innovation and teaching skills they possess. We are in the process of shortlisting 15 persons, which should be over in a couple of days.”
THEY BUCKED THE TREND
BHARAT AGRAWAT
Bharat Agrawat (40) has innovated a multipurpose wood stove with two burners at different elevations that can efficiently run using both wood and coal as fuel. He has studied up to class 10 and has been running agricultural equipments’ workshop for past 25 years.
BACHUBHAI SAVJIBHAI THESIA
Doing away with the steering wheel, Bachubhai (58), an inventor and innovator, has developed a lever-operated farm machine capable of carrying out most agricultural operations. He also has many more innovations to his credit viz. motorcycle-operated agricultural device, sensor system for irrigating fields, a personalised bulb with an added circuit to increase life, multi-purpose machine consisting of a generator, a water-lifting pump, a flour mill and an iron-cutting machine, among other things.
University students will soon learn the basics of innovation from the innovators themselves. In a novel development, Gujarat Technological University has decided to provide a platform to grassroots innovators to pass on their skills to its students. This will help the students better understand the problems of the rural masses and use technology to better use in making products for them.
As per the plan, GTU will provide these innovators with a teacher’s certificate. The certificate will entitle them to pass on their knowledge to students. In this regard, GTU has organised a programme on March 25 in Gandhinagar, where around 15 grassroots innovators will be awarded teacher’s certificates. The certificates will enable them to impart lessons in innovations to GTU students, provided they have .
A function was organised by L E Engineering College in Morbi on Wednesday where a grassroots innovator, Mansukh Prajapati, was invited as the chief guest. Mirror talked to Prajapati, he said, “It is an unforgettable experience. I have just cleared class 10, but highly-educated technocrats had something to learn from me. Grassroots innovators can better understand problems and complexities of rural masses.”
Avinash Tiwari, an electrical engineering student in semester 6 said, “I am impressed by his (Prajapati’s) example. He has done so much for the masses. His life is an example for others to emulate.” Grass roots innovators could be even invited by IIM, NID, etc to guide their students.
GTU is first technological university to initiate this mission. There are also plans to invite them to engineering, MBA, MCA, Pharmacy institutes. Students and teachers listen to them and learn from them. Besides they would be helped to scale up their ideas, so that their products go far and wide.
According to GTU VC Akshai Aggarwal, “This provides a two-way advantage. They gain from our support and our students gain from their innovative spirit. We are preparing a list of grassroots innovators. They would be provided with certificates which would mention, ‘We appreciate the innovative work done by (Name) and this innovation has been presented to GTU students and this interaction with innovators has helped improve learning system at GTU.”
Aggarwal added, “These innovators would teach and ease the teacher’s burden. They would be paid as per visiting faculty. However, their selection will be made on the merit of their innovation and teaching skills they possess. We are in the process of shortlisting 15 persons, which should be over in a couple of days.”
THEY BUCKED THE TREND
BHARAT AGRAWAT
Bharat Agrawat (40) has innovated a multipurpose wood stove with two burners at different elevations that can efficiently run using both wood and coal as fuel. He has studied up to class 10 and has been running agricultural equipments’ workshop for past 25 years.
BACHUBHAI SAVJIBHAI THESIA
Doing away with the steering wheel, Bachubhai (58), an inventor and innovator, has developed a lever-operated farm machine capable of carrying out most agricultural operations. He also has many more innovations to his credit viz. motorcycle-operated agricultural device, sensor system for irrigating fields, a personalised bulb with an added circuit to increase life, multi-purpose machine consisting of a generator, a water-lifting pump, a flour mill and an iron-cutting machine, among other things.
