L-RAMP News and Announcements

The Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) University in Vellore on August 5 interviewed 17 candidates for the L-RAMP Student Project Support Scheme. Each student (or team of students) has an idea for an innovative project with social benefit and so, through the Technology Business Incubator (TBI) at VIT, presented their idea and where they plan to reach in 1 year. A total of Rs. 2,50,000 is available for disbursement and the committee comprised of the VIT TBI coordinators, VIT faculty and an L-RAMP representative will decide on the top projects in the coming days.

Sheep rearing continues to be an important activity for employment and livelihood. However, the sector is highly unorganised and underserved. Furthermore, many of those engaged in this traditional activity are nomadic. Owing to various constraints, these groups do not enjoy a decent quality of life.

Rural Innovations Network (RIN), supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, has launched the RIN Fellowship Programme. RIN creates self-sustaining rural prosperity by enabling the successful commercialisation of innovations, using social enterprise models. RIN invites energetic and talented professionals to participate in transforming great ideas into successful innovations that reach the market as commercially viable and affordable products for the rural poor.

Fellows will learn to:

Speech impairment is one of the various problems children with Cerebral Palsy face. Conventional Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices are neither accessible nor affordable for individuals with CP in rural areas.

KAVI, designed by Invention Labs, is an AAC device focusing on children with Cerebral Palsy with speech impairment. The main goal of KAVI is to empower children in rural India to join mainstream schools without any inhibitions or loss of self-respect.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 Former L-RAMP incubatee, Perfint Engineering Services, has just been selected as a finalist in the India-wide Tata NEN Hottest Startup Awards. Out of nearly 600 nominees, Perfint has been selected as one of the 30 finalists for this prestigious competition. We salute their achievements and look forward to many great health care related innovations from them.

Lemelson Recognition and Mentoring Program (L-RAMP) is a joint initiative of Indian Institute of Technology-Madras and Rural Innovations Network, supported by The Lemelson Foundation USA. The programme was launched in September of 2004. L-RAMP supports ‘Innovations’ that can eventually create an impact in the lives of the larger section of the society, especially of the underserved population. L-RAMP provides Funding, Mentoring, Network support and recognition to the innovators to take their innovations to market.

RIN and IIT Madras present the L-RAMP Award of Excellence

On September 1st, 3 new staff joined our team. We're happy to have them with us and look forward to them posting their views on this blog soon.

From the 28th of July to the 1st of August, L-RAMP was fortunate to be part of an executive education course dealing with 'Evaluating Social Programmes' held at the IFMR in Chennai. The course was organized and delivered by MIT's J-PAL lab, the base of a network of development economists advocating the use of randomized trials to conclusively determine the impacts of social programmes.

Shaastra, an annual event celebrating the spirit of Engineering, will again be held at IIT-Madras from the 1st to the 5th of October, 2008. Coinciding with the Golden Jubilee celebrations for IIT-M, this year's event listing include the Shaastra Conclave, 5 Golden Design challenges (addressing key problems facing India) and Engenious, a design challenge event. Over 30,000 students from over 800 of India's best Engineering colleges are expected to attend.