Students should get their ideas patented: AICTE

Nation-wide Intellectual Property Talent Search exam will motivate innovations at schools, colleges

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has asked students to participate in an Intellectual Property Talent Search Examination- IPTSE-cum-awards. This will help our young engineers to patent their innovations.

City colleges are happy with this move. “Usually, we have exhibitions in the college and students come up with innovative projects of their own and at times industriesadopt the ideas or innovations, but students do not get recognised. Especially, in technical institutions, we do not patent the ideas of professors or students,” said Dr. Shashidhar Muniyappa, head of Sri Venkateshwara College of Engineering (SVCE).

With this move, students will get a chance to patent their ideas, he said. “Six months ago, we too had a faculty-level awareness programme on patenting and copyrights. Our college will also have a patenting advisory body that students can approach.”

Experts said if students patent their innovations they will be saved from their ideas being stolen or from work getting replicated.
State-run universities too have welcomed the AICTE move. HU Talwar, director of the department of technical education, said, “Patenting will help students doing research and once they get their ideas patented, it goes to their account. It is necessary to prevent stealing of ideas. We always support patenting of students’ ideas.”

Dr. HN Ramesh, principal of University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) said, “This will give students bigger exposure when they actually get their ideas or projects patented.” He said UVCE will convene a meeting with all head of the departments and start spreading word on this among students.

Source: Bangalore Mirror