Bengaluru: Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) has decided to tighten the rules for its innovation and design thinking course, making it compulsory for every student to build a working prototype to secure the one credit attached to the subject. The move follows concerns that the course, though mandatory, has turned into a formality in many affiliated colleges.The subject is taught in the first and second semesters across VTU colleges, with one credit in each term. Students are expected to identify a real problem and prepare a design in the first semester, and then convert that idea into a prototype in the second.
University officials say this sequence is rarely followed in spirit. “There is no real work being done in the course across colleges. Students are awarded the credit without them doing any work. We want this to change,” VTU vice-chancellor S Vidyashankar, said.To ensure genuine participation, the university plans to introduce a mobile application where students must upload real-time photographs and videos of their projects. The platform will allow faculty to track progress at every stage. “They have to identify a problem, think and analyse, and develop a solution for it. This is how real learning takes place,” Vidyashankar said.Pilot ReadyA pilot version of the model is already under way at the four VTU regional centres and three constituent colleges. About 2,000 students are currently building prototypes in teams of four. The groups visited locations of their choice, from agricultural fields to bus stands, identified a single problem, and worked out a practical response. These projects will be displayed on Feb 28 during an Open Day organised by the university. Principals from affiliated colleges have been invited to observe the exercise and replicate the system on their campuses.ASI Enters CurriculumIn a parallel development, VTU announced that it will introduce Artificial Super Intelligence, or ASI, into its curriculum from next year. The university has signed an agreement with Chiac ASI, a company based in the UK, to support the programme. Under the pact, more than 1,000 students will receive free internships and lecturers will be provided with self-updating textbooks on the subject. Workshops for teachers in affiliated colleges have already begun.Chiac ASI chief executive Chandrashekar Nagaraju said India must move quickly in this field. “From a national security perspective, it is an urgent necessity for India to establish leadership in Super Intelligence before 2030. The US and China are advancing at great speed. Our goal is to shape one million engineering talents in India and train four lakh skilled engineers in ASI,” he said.
