nif.org.in IGNITE 2014 National Competition for Students Ideas and Innovations

Name of the Organisation : National Innovation Foundation India (nif.org.in)
Type of Announcement : IGNITE 2014 8th National Competition for Students’ Ideas and Innovations

Home Page : http://nif.org.in/ignite_announcement

IGNITE 2014 :
National Innovation Foundation – India announces the 8th National Competition for Students’ Ideas and Innovations in association with Honey Bee Network, SRISTI, CBSE & other partners

National Innovation Foundation – India invites submissions of the creative technological ideas/innovations from the students up to class 12 th for the seventh national competition for children’s ideas and innovations – IGNITE 2014.

What is the IGNITE contest?
IGNITE is an annual national competition to harness the creative and innovative spirit of school children. Students are invited to send their original creative technological ideas and innovations for the same.

Why the IGNITE contest?
Creativity among children is almost in-born, every child is creative, degrees may vary, but not the basic manifestation. Then what happens during the growth and maturation? Why should children stop asking basic questions? Why do they agree to do repetitive science projects instead of being original? Why do they learn to live with unsolved social and professional problems? We should not allow our children to live with such problems rather urge them to come up with solutions to these. We want to promote originality, creativity and innovative spirit among our children so that when they become leaders of our society, they ensure an imaginative, inclusive and an innovative future for the country. We want our children to be more sensitive to the problems faced by not just them and their families or neighbours but also other socially disadvantaged sections of the society.

What is invited for the IGNITE contest?
Original creative technological ideas and innovations of the students OR/AND Any technological idea/innovation that solves any daily problem be it household, of porters, labourers, or the like. In addition, during their vacations or otherwise, the students are encouraged to look for other people who come out with innovative machines/devices or solve day to day problems using their creativity. Similarly they are also encouraged to document and learn traditional knowledge practices from their elders in their family and neighbourhood.

The purpose is to expose them to the rich traditional heritage we have, facilitating its transfer from generation to generation. The students submitting the maximum number of properly documented entries (Innovations/Traditional Knowledge) to the schools (which would forward them to NIF) or directly to NIF would be given appreciation certificates from NIF. For each innovation/traditional knowledge practice spotted and documented by the student, he/she will be credited as being the ‘Scout’ for that particular innovation/traditional knowledge in records.

What is the competition period?
The entries will be received till August 31, 2014. All entries received after this date will be considered for IGNITE 15 competition.

Can students of other educational boards (national and state) other than CBSE also participate in the competition?
Yes, students from any educational board can participate in IGNITE competition.

How can the submissions be sent?
The submissions for the contest can be made to us through the following means.
1. Email the details at ignite14@nifindia.org
2.Submit online at http://www.nif.org.in/
3. Mail them at the following address (directly/through the Principal)

IGNITE 2014
National Innovation Foundation – India
Satellite Complex, Premchand Nagar Road,
Jodhpur Tekra, Satellite
Ahmedabad 380 015, Gujarat

Is there any limit to the number of entries submitted during the competition period?
No. The students are encouraged to submit as many entries as possible.

Can there be groups or only individual submissions?
Students can submit entries in group provided each member of the group contributes significantly to the development of the idea/innovation/project. Groups where teachers/parents are included will not be considered.

Are there any separate awards for individual or groups?
No

Is there any age limit for students?
As the competition is for students upto class 12, the maximum age is expected to be about 17-18 years.

Can only students with science background apply for the competition?
Students from any background arts, commerce etc can participate in the competition.

Is there any particular format for submission of entries?
There is no particular format for submission. However, the following should be clearly mentioned – name, age, class, school name & address, home address & contact number, title of the project/idea/innovation, detailed description, diagrams/sketches/photos if any and a simple declaration that the project has been done by the student himself/herself without guidance from teachers/parents. If required later we may request a declaration from school and/or parents that the project of the student has been unsupervised.

Is a working model required along with the submission?
Not at this stage. If required later we would ourselves let the student know and may even facilitate the development of the prototype/model.

Are any photos/videos/sketches of the idea/innovation/project required?
Yes, if available. These would help our experts to properly understand and evaluate the submission.

How is the evaluation of entries done?
The evaluation of entries is based on the information provided in the entry submitted to us online or hard copy. Click here to see the evaluation process. There will be NO evaluation event (meeting, interview or exhibition) prior to the award function where we will call students with their models and evaluate them. If during our screening, any additional information would be required by us for any promising entry, we would get in touch with the student or school over phone or email hence providing proper contact details is very essential.

When will the awards be announced and given?
The name of the winners will be announced on October 15, 2014. The awards will later be given at his convenience by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. October 15, the birthday of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is celebrated as Children’s Creativity and Innovation Day by NIF.