Image Courtesy : www.ststephens.edu

Delhi University's (DUs) Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) is asking for applications from people with unique startup ideas with commercial viability to help them see through their implementation.

The applications for the startup ideas will remain open till March 13, 2023.

Shobha Bagai, CIC Director, said anybody from the university or, in fact, outside the university with a promising idea could apply. Bagai said the university aims to take in four startup ideas and provide them with the required assistance. No stipend or economic support will be provided.

She said we are trying to support these innovative young minds. We are initiating startups with unique ideas but are at the raw stage. These startups require working space and a specific mentor to take them to the next step.

Shobha Bagai said the Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) wanted to standardize the initiative. Hence, it advertised the proposal. She added that mentors for the startups would be from our faculty members and people from outside.

The university will provide co-working space and mentoring support for 3 3 months under the initiative.

The promoters must have the technological skills to prototype for transforming their idea into a product.

There are parameters on which an application will be judged by a board led by Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) faculty.

Bagai said we have already asked them to fill up an application form. In that application form, they have to provide all the details and information asked, whether they are obtaining any funding and their product's stage. We have questioned them about the flow chart about their strategies and plans.

The Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) has been developed to pursue and derive innovations from village clusters, educational clusters, industrial clusters, and slum clusters.

"Under Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC), we used to develop an incubation centre funded by the Ministry of Education. There were some thriving startups under the DIC."

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, these initiatives came to a standstill. We are now renewing that. We are concentrating on startups," the director stated.