Four engineering colleges in the State will offer 24x7 laboratory facility where students can work on an idea and take it to the prototype stage. They are among the 49 institutions chosen across the country.
The colleges chosen include three from the western districts of Coimbatore and Namakkal and one from Tiruvallur district.
The All India Council for Technical Education launched IDEA (idea development, evaluation and application) labs to set up infrastructure to encourage students to experiment with the fundamental application of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and enable product visualisation.
The colleges chosen are Hindustan College of Engineering and Technology and Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College from Coimbatore; K.S. Rangasamy College of Technology, Tiruchengode; Muthayammal Engineering College, Rasipuram; and RMK Engineering College, Kavaraipettai, in Tiruvallur district.
The labs will provide facilities under one roof to convert an idea into a prototype. According to the Council, the labs will be available round-the-clock to encourage students and faculty to take up creative work.
Council chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe said that the labs were developed so that students get an experience akin to that found in industry. The aim was to ensure experiential learning on campus, similar to how medical students spent time in hospitals attached to medical colleges.
The focus would be on training students to enable them be imaginative and creative and remain in the workplaces they join.
Council vice-chairman M.P. Poonia said the labs must connect with schools in their vicinity to give students an opportunity to work on their ideas as projects.
Rajive Kumar, member-secretary of AICTE, said the IDEA labs would be open 24 hours. “The labs in smaller cities will strengthen the innovation ecosystem in the country,” he said.