CMRU – IIC

CMRU - Institute Innovation Council

Vision

To create a dynamic ecosystem that nurtures innovation, entrepreneurship, and creative leadership, empowering students and faculty to drive positive change locally and globally.

Mission

To integrate innovation into education by facilitating programs, competitions, mentorship, and startup opportunities that prepare the CMRU community for leadership in a rapidly changing world

CMRU has defined it “Innovation and Startup Policy” which provides the basis for carrying out its activities. CMRU Policy on Innovation_ Entrepreneurship_Startups_and_Centre of Excellences

CMRU has established an Incubation Centre with a physical space of 7000 Sq Ft with movable modular furniture and fixtures; LED TVs; and Flexi Boards, Pinup Boards meant to foster networking between incubatee students and entrepreneurs, and others in entrepreneurial space.  Following facilities help us in creating Innovation Centre & Design Thinking Lab of CMRU is unique and provides much required impetus to the entire life cycle of innovation. It is equipped with the following:

• Presentation Space
• Mini Presentation Area
• Brainstorming Space
• Prototyping Space

Innovation Centre & Design Thinking Lab

The Innovation Centre & Design Thinking Lab (Innovation Centre & Design Thinking Lab) at CMRU Lakeside Campus, is a dynamic and inclusive space designed to spark creativity and catalyze innovation. It is a collaborative environment intended to foster an experimental culture on campus by promoting interdisciplinary and cross-stream engagement among students. The lab has thoughtfully crafted a supportive and stimulating environment where students can collaborate, conceive, and create products, services, or experiences benefiting society and encouraging innovation and solving current and future challenges. This helps students develop essential and new-age skills. These include empathizing, ideating, problem-solving, creativity, and communication skills. By working through the design thinking process, students learn to identify problems, generate ideas, prototype solutions, and iterate based on user feedback. They also learn how to communicate their ideas effectively both verbally and visually, which is crucial for success in any field. These learnings help in the overall growth of students and create Change-makers instead of Change-seekers. The Innovation Centre & Design Thinking Lab is also a valuable resource addition for faculty and staff at CMRU Lakeside Campus. It provides them with access to a space where they can experiment with new teaching methods and develop innovative approaches to research and problem-solving. The ambiance and setup of the lab is such that it also supports informal/interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty, enabling them to work together on research projects, brainstorm, and introduce new pedagogies that benefit students across the university. The lab is equipped with a range of spaces and tools to support the innovation process. Here are some of the key features:

Presentation Space

The Presentation Space is the perfect place for teams to share their ideas with others. Equipped with a large screen and state-of-the-art sound system, this space has been designed to help speakers communicate their ideas effectively and engage their audience. The seating is comfortable and arranged to create an informal atmosphere, promoting interaction and discussion.

Mini Presentation Area

The Mini Presentation Area is a perfect setting for students to showcase their projects to a smaller audience, enabling them to receive quick feedback and refine their ideas. It is an ideal space for our students to test their concepts and prototypes in a more intimate setting and engage with their peers in a constructive and supportive environment.

Brainstorming Area

The Brainstorming Area features different sizes and shapes of whiteboards, soft boards, and writing surfaces such as glass top tables, that enable students to collaborate effectively and visually map out their ideas. We believe that collaboration and teamwork are essential in inspiring innovation, and this area has been designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas and foster a sense of community among our students. To further enhance the brainstorming experience the place has a relaxing and inspiring atmosphere with comfortable seating and natural lighting.

Prototyping Space

The Prototyping Space is dedicated to supporting the prototyping process, providing teams with the tools and equipment they need to turn their ideas into tangible prototypes. The prototyping area will be equipped with a wide range of cutting-edge tools and equipment such as 3D printers, development boards, electronics consumables etc. The goal with this space is to provide CMRU students with access to the latest prototyping technologies, enabling them to bring their ideas to life in innovative and exciting ways. Collaboration between students from diverse academic fields is one of the standout features of the Innovation Centre & Design Thinking Lab. Here, engineering, design, business and humanities converge towards working on real-world problems together. The resulting cross-fertilization of ideas allows for a more profound understanding of contemporary challenges facing society. Alongside this comes an emphasis on nurturing innovation through a structured process that spans ideation to prototyping then testing and finally iteration. The Innovation Centre & Design Thinking Lab creates a secure and nurturing setting where students can nurture their ideas and fine-tune their solutions through constructive feedback from faculties, mentors and peers.  

CMRU incubation support includes providing technological facilities like

• Makerspace
• 3D Printing Lab
• Prototyping Lab
• Artisans Workspace
• Make with Electronics
• CAD Lab

CMRU is also put a careful crafted strategy and plan in place to access to startup seed and growth fund through

• MoE’s IIC Yukti initiative
• NASSCOM Foundation’s thingQbator
• IEntra India Startup Studio, and
• ICAR Nivedi naavic Agri-Business Incubator
• Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST): Patent and IPR Support
• MITSquare

CMRU believes in capacity building through its design thinking lab and innovation centre facilities, continuous mentoring, and expanding thinking horizon and mindset. In this pursuit, CMRU IIC has implemented multidisciplinary mentoring and advisory support that includes internal and external mentors; activities that include talks by Startup Founders, Experts, IPR Professionals, and law firms; and accelerator programs from NASSCOM Foundation towards supporting start-ups and early-stage companies.

CMR University has created an institutional innovation ecosystem where in young minds are mobilized, mentored, supported, and guided to

• Ideate
• Build prototypes
• Incubate business viable product
• Create minimum viable product (MVP)
• Engineer Product
• Check for Technical, Investment, Manufacturing, and Market Readiness
• Demonstrate and showcase prototype and product
• Validate the idea or MVP or Prototype or Product

CMRU provides ample opportunity to present their ideas to investors, get funding, and establish their startup. In this journey, NASSCOM Foundation’s thingQbator, ICAR Tech-TBI NaaVic, iEntra’s India Incubation Centre, MiT Square, and The Future Founders extended their invaluable support. All these activities attract talented entrepreneurs and recognize and promote startups. As a result of this, in the last one-year CMRU Innovation Centre produced 450+ Ideas, won 5 National Awards and 5 students won 3rd Prize in National Competition and participated in ASEAN-CHINA-INDIA Youth Leadership Summit 2023 in Singapore which was fully funded.

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Awards and Recognition

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