Makerspace @AIC-ISB: Empowering innovation-led entrepreneurship

By Team Marcomm Jul 25, 2022

Dr Chintan Vaishnav, Head of Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, inaugurated the Makerspace Lab at the Atal Innovation Centre at ISB's Mohali campus on July 25. AIC-ISB is a joint initiative by ISB and Atal Innovation Mission to promote innovation-led entrepreneurship in the region.

The initiative by AIC-ISB will help startups conduct in-house rapid prototyping to ideate, create and test their products on a single platform. The space has been designed to be a highly collaborative environment for innovators to interact and work collaboratively on any possible solution. Founded on a DIY mindset, the launch of Makerspace @AIC-ISB will provide budding entrepreneurs with direct access to the most crucial, fascinating, and functional makerspace instruments, including hand tools, Laser Cutters, 3D Printers, a CNC Router, and 3D Scanners.

Speaking on the launch, Dr Chintan Vaishnav expressed delight and said that ISB plays the important role of an ecosystem builder through the Atal Incubation Centre. “The Makerspace @AIC-ISB will be the "cherry on top" of the innovation ecosystem of Punjab,” he said.

AIC, a business accelerator, is located within ISB’s Mohali campus and helps early-stage founders create highly impactful, investable enterprises. Up to this point, the AIC at ISB has served as an incubator for more than 60 startups and sectors include: agri-tech, green energy, healthcare, and people transportation solutions.

ISB has been organising a series of events under the I-Connect @ISB initiative to facilitate networking opportunities within the entrepreneurial ecosystem and to create a platform where like-minded entrepreneurs can share ideas and meet new people. As part of the I-Connect @ISB held at the Mohali campus, senior leaders from the government, business, and academia participated in a roundtable discussion on how to encourage a strong and thriving startup ecosystem in the country.

"Inculcating entrepreneurship is central to ISB’s approach towards business education. The School not only nurtures entrepreneurs, but also handholds them to become established businesses in their field through various initiatives," said Professor Bhagwan Chowdhry, Faculty Director, I-Venture @ISB and Professor of Finance. I-Venture@ISB fosters entrepreneurship and nurtures start-ups at ISB through various initiatives and programmes.

ISB has played an active role in helping the startup ecosystem in the Punjab region grow by working with key stakeholders in the region. It has been a founding member of the Start-Up Punjab hub at STPI in Mohali and, more recently, was involved in the ideation of the Innovation Mission Punjab, a government-led ecosystem enabler in the state. For many years now, ISB has been the host of TiECon, the region's most significant learning and networking event in entrepreneurship organised by TiE Chandigarh.