New Delhi: Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi) and I-Hub Foundation for Cobotics (IHFC), the Technology Innovation Hub of IIT Delhi, have partnered to establish a Co-Innovation Center (CIC) at the Centre for Intelligent Product Development (CiPD) at IIIT-Delhi. This collaborative initiative is designed to foster innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship among the youth of India.
Vision Behind the Co-Innovation Centers
The newly established Co-Innovation Center is part of a broader vision to nurture innovation and technological advancement among India’s young generation. These centers aim to groom aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators by offering a platform that promotes original thinking and impactful product development. The initiative also emphasizes indigenous research and the creation of deep-tech products, aligning strongly with national missions such as Viksit Bharat and Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Through this effort, CiPD and IHFC aim to inspire young minds to innovate and explore novel ideas in technological research and their translation into viable products. The initiative marks a significant step towards empowering India’s youth and equipping them with the tools to create globally competitive solutions.
Leaders Speak on the Initiative
On this occasion, Prof. Ranjan Bose, Director, IIIT-Delhi expressed his enthusiasm about the initiative and said,
“The establishment of CIC at CiPD further strengthens our ties with IHFC and is a win-win for both IHFC and IIIT Delhi. This engagement will co-exist with the Medical Cobotics Center (MCC) that iHub-Anubhuti, the Technology Innovation Hub of IIIT Delhi had launched with IHFC. I wish great success to this initiative and look forward to innovative products coming out of this fruitful partnership.”
Prof. S.K. Saha, Project Director, IHFC, also shared his pride in the initiative, saying,
“It has been my constant endeavor and dream to provide India’s youth with a platform to ideate, innovate, and create solutions that make a difference to the world. These centres will not only promote lab-to-market concepts but also contribute to building a tech-savvy nation, creating more jobs, and offering transformative technology solutions.”
Dr. Anuj Grover, Head, CiPD and Co-Innovation Mentor of the CIC, emphasized the collaborative spirit of the effort, stating,
“This is a synergistic initiative with IHFC to encourage students to develop products in the deep-tech domains of robotics and automation. Through this initiative we will be able to share resources and opportunities across the network of Co-Innovation Centers and build a stronger ecosystem for product development.”
The Road Ahead
Dr. Akash Sondhi, Head of Campus Innovation Program at IHFC, highlighted the larger vision, stating that IHFC is currently working to establish 10 Co-Innovation Centers across key locations in India.
With these efforts, the dream of an empowered and innovative young India is closer than ever.
Dr. Sondhi also introduced the “Research Entrepreneurship and Development for Youth (READY)” program, which offers monthly stipends of up to ₹25,000 to support young innovators in developing deep-tech prototypes. Startups with promising ideas may also receive additional financial support and be incubated at IHFC and partner CICs.
Dr. Anuj Grover further added,
“This aligns well with the intelligent Product Development – Certificate Program (iPD-CP) that CiPD has launched. This is a 24-week training program to help innovators to transform their ideas into production-ready prototypes. The READY scholarships will encourage more students to consider starting their entrepreneurial journey quickly.”
