The AICTE–Innovation Cell (IIC) Regional Meet was organised on 2nd December, 2025 at Dwarkadas J. Sanghvi College of Engineering (DJSCE), Vile Parle, Mumbai, as part of AICTE’s national initiative to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems within higher educational institutions. The event brought together IIC coordinators, faculty members, student innovators, incubation managers, and ecosystem partners from institutions across the region.
PIMSR was represented by Prof. Vinod Madhavan and Prof. Anil Jadwani & the Regional Meet was designed as a high-impact, action-oriented platform focusing on the effective implementation of IIC activities, sharing of best practices, and alignment with national innovation objectives. The program included inaugural sessions, expert talks, panel discussions, mentoring interactions, and innovation showcases. Key themes covered during the sessions included institutional innovation frameworks, startup and incubation support mechanisms, intellectual property awareness, technology readiness levels, funding opportunities, and student entrepreneurship development.
A significant highlight of the meet was the interaction between participating colleges and mentors from industry and incubation ecosystems. Faculty representatives exchanged insights on successful IIC models, student engagement strategies, and ways to institutionalize innovation as a core academic outcome. Student teams showcased prototypes, startup ideas, and problem-solving projects addressing real-world challenges across technology, sustainability, and social innovation.
Colleges that attended the event later reflected on its strong learning orientation, structured mentoring support, and networking opportunities. The meet enabled institutions to benchmark their innovation initiatives, gain clarity on AICTE–IIC reporting and evaluation processes, and identify collaboration opportunities with peer institutions and ecosystem partners.
Overall, the IIC Regional Meet at DJSCE served as an important regional convergence point for fostering innovation culture in higher education. It reinforced AICTE’s vision of creating self-sustaining, student-driven innovation ecosystems and provided actionable takeaways for institutions to strengthen entrepreneurship, incubation, and applied learning outcomes on their campuses.
