Wednesday, 14th Oct | 4-6 PM

Speaker:   Prof. B. Ravi, Institute Chair Professor, Mechanical Engineering, PI, Biomedical Engineering & Technology Innovation Centre, Professor-in-Charge, Desai Sethi Centre for Entrepreneurship. Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai-400076.

Abstract: There is immense potential to solve unmet needs of society by exploring new technologies, developing appropriate solutions and offering them to end-users through start-up companies. This can lead to social impact through affordable solutions as well as job opportunities. Innovators can leverage emerging technology drivers like 3D printing, smart sensors, artificial intelligence and robotics. There are however, several ‘valleys of death’ between ideation, invention, innovation and impaction. These can be overcome by team members having complementary backgrounds and using a systematic process from concept to commercialization. A conducive eco-system to identify, train, mentor and support the aspiring innovators is equally essential and helpful. 

We will illustrate the innovation process with real-life stories of multi-disciplinary teams who created novel and high-quality yet affordable medical devices, such as smart stethoscope (for contact-less auscultation of COVID patients). It involves unmet need identification by end-users (doctors in the case of healthcare), focused research by scientists, product development by engineers and commercialization by entrepreneurs. We will highlight key challenges and the best practices to effectively and efficiently translate research work into real-life application. We will also discuss the critical role of various resources (infrastructure, procedures, mentors, and culture) useful for aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs in their journey.

                             

   ITELecture-9| Register| Video of talk