riidl TBI Invites Applications From Aspiring Entrepreneurs And Innovators For Nidhi Prayas Grant & Nidhi EIR Fellowship

February 14, 2022: The Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratories (riidl), a not-for-profit organisation run by the Somaiya Trust and supported by NSTEDB, the Department of Science and Technology, the Government of India, BIRAC, the Government of India, MSInS, the Government of Maharashtra, and Somaiya Vidyavihar University, is encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs and budding innovators to pursue entrepreneurship and providing funding opportunities through NIDHI PRAYAS and NIDHI EIR.

PRAYAS (Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Technology Entrepreneurs) is a DST-NIDHI initiative designed to help young inventors develop their ideas into proof of concept. This assistance will enable innovators to test their ideas without fear of failure, allowing them to progress to the point where they have a ready product and are ready to approach incubators for commercialisation.

The NIDHI PRAYAS Grant will be aw

riidl TBI Invites Applications From Aspiring Entrepreneurs And Innovators For Nidhi Prayas Grant & Nidhi EIR Fellowship

February 14, 2022: The Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratories (riidl), a not-for-profit organisation run by the Somaiya Trust and supported by NSTEDB, the Department of Science and Technology, the Government of India, BIRAC, the Government of India, MSInS, the Government of Maharashtra, and Somaiya Vidyavihar University, is encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs and budding innovators to pursue entrepreneurship and providing funding opportunities through NIDHI PRAYAS and NIDHI EIR.

PRAYAS (Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Technology Entrepreneurs) is a DST-NIDHI initiative designed to help young inventors develop their ideas into proof of concept. This assistance will enable innovators to test their ideas without fear of failure, allowing them to progress to the point where they have a ready product and are ready to approach incubators for commercialisation.

The NIDHI PRAYAS Grant will be awarded for a period of 12-18 months and will be worth up to INR 10 lakhs each startup/ innovator. The deadline to apply is February 20, 2022.

Eligibility: Hardware Startups on the idea stage and want to develop a prototype

The Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) Programme of the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) is one of the programmes introduced under NIDHI to inspire the best talents to be entrepreneurs, to minimise the risk involved in pursuing startups, and to partially offset their opportunity costs of high-paying jobs. A fellowship will be offered to graduate students who want to pursue entrepreneurship.

The NIDHI EIR Fellowship will pay INR 30,000 per month to each student innovator for a period of 12 months. The deadline to apply is February 22, 2022.

Eligibility: The NIDHI EIR plan is open to students who have finished a four-year bachelor's degree in Science or Engineering or a three-year certificate in Science or Engineering combined with two years of full-time work experience.

RIIDL Academy Renamed As Somaiya School Of Design

October 14, 2021: RIIDL Academy, a four-year full-time bachelor's degree program in design that began earlier this year, has been renamed the Somaiya School of Design, supported by RIIDL. The programme is a constituent college of Somaiya Vidyavihar University, and it is financed by RIIDL. The undergraduate programme was created to promote Design, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation among its students, instructors, staff, alumni, and community members.

The Somaiya School of Design, which is supported by RIIDL, offers a programme for young, active people who want to improve their Product Design talents while also practicing Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This programme encourages participants to interact directly with the real world in order to increase awareness and empathy, as well as to identify the world's most pressing issues. With a heavy focus on User Experience, Business viability, and Sustainability, the Design thinking-based curriculum will empower students to design physical/tangible products or screen-based products. We began the program in August 2021 with our first group of students, who are being mentored by the best in the field. The curriculum at Somaiya School of Design will allow students to take charge of their own learning in a collaborative atmosphere with 'Real Impact' learning outcomes.

Through Design challenges, internships, and actual projects, this innovative program aims to blend classroom sessions with a strong focus on industry knowledge.

Highlights of the programme

  • Design Thinking based evolving curriculum with 4 foundational pillars - Design, Technology, Business, and Humanities
  • Experiential learning - Real Design challenges, International exchange programs, Strategic partnerships and internships
  • Strong focus on attributes of product design: Functionality, Aesthetics, and Sustainability
  • Diverse Faculty from across the globe - experts who are passionate about teaching
  • Soft skills coach to help students build Confidence, Creativity and Communication skills
  • World-class Laboratories to build prototypes and special grants to support Innovation
  • Thriving Design and Innovation communities on campus to stay connected & inspired

Somaiya School of Design, in line with RIIDL's philosophy, seeks to provide its students and young innovators with the required skills and knowledge to craft a professional path of their choosing, marked by cutting-edge innovation, entrepreneurial thinking, and real-world problem-solving.

Nidhi SSS Funds Four Startups Incubated By RIIDL

August 25, 2021: Pillpouch Healthtech Pvt Ltd, Doubt Buddy Education Technology Pvt Ltd, Pocketly Infotech Pvt Ltd, and Swipe were among four startups to receive funding of Rs 2 crore from the Nidhi Seed Support System, an umbrella programme conceived and developed by the Department of Science and Technology's Innovation & Entrepreneurship division. The startups are supported by the National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, Maharashtra, and Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratories (riidl), a not-for-profit organisation under the Somaiya Trust. Seed investment is provided by Nidhi SSS to talented and innovative enterprises. Its goal is to close the funding gap that technology-driven startups encounter in their early stages.

From edtech to fintech, these firms illuminate how riidl is assisting in the acceleration and support of startups in the face of the pandemic.

MicroDegree (Pillpouch Healthtech Pvt. Ltd.) intends to empower non-metro local technological talent with on-demand IT skills in Vernacular languages, allowing them to connect with the proper career prospects at affordable pricing. They were founded in 2019 and have over 10,000 active members on their platform.

Doubt Buddy (Doubt Buddy Education Technology Pvt. Ltd.) is a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week doubt-resolution platform where students from various courses and subjects can get individualised answers to their questions. It also covers all disciplines, including those covered by JEE and NCERT, and offers tips and techniques for competitive exams like IIT, NIT, IIIT, DTU, DU, and AIIMS. They provide students with a hybrid model that allows them to address their doubts in the way that they prefer, such as receiving a fast solution or chatting with the top teachers via chat, audio, and other means.

Pocketly Infotech Pvt. Ltd. is a microlending platform for students in college. It offers its users a credit line ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 10,000 and works to improve kids' credit scores so that they can get credit in college. To date, they have 400k+ downloads, over 5000 universities in India, loans of Rs 40 crore given, and a user retention rate of 75% month over month.

Swipe is an easy-to-use billing and accounting programme for Indian small enterprises. They make it simple for small businesses to send invoices to their clients over WhatsApp. Swipe allows businesses to send a WhatsApp message to their consumers with a link that allows them to pay instantaneously using a variety of payment options. The majority of India's 75 million SMEs still use manual systems to track sales, purchases, and payments. This is a time-consuming and inefficient procedure.

“Most businesses struggle to secure angel or seed investment at the early stage, and this fund from NIDHI SSS is like a blessing for entrepreneurs in the ecosystem. We, at riidl, assisted four companies with a NIDHI Seed Support grant from the Department of Science and Technology of India, as well as business mentoring, technical mentoring, early customer access support, virtual incubation, networking and outreach opportunities, and more. We are pleased of all the startups that have reached new heights and have received investment to help them grow even further,” said Gaurang Shetty, Chief Innovation Catalyst, riidl.

Dr Anita Gupta, Scientist G / Adviser & Head (Innovation & Entrepreneurship), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, has been essential in assisting our incubator riidl in the development of numerous programs, including the NIDHI Seed Support System.”

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Reviews (Showing 1 of 1 review)

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Nikita Savla | B.Des. in Product Design - Batch of 2025
Reviewed on 12 Feb 2022
4.6
Placements 4 Infrastructure 5 Faculty & Course Curriculum 5 Crowd & Campus Life 5 Value for Money 4
Really good industrial exposure.

Placements: Since we are the first batch, placements are something we haven't heard about. But the school kept its word by providing the best practical knowledge and industrial exposure. While I compare my education with the education provided to my friends from different universities, I must say SSOD is more of a Skill Tech University.

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Answered a year ago

After completing the four-year BDes course from Somaiya School of Design, students can become successful Product Designer who will be able to build sustainable design solutions that lay strong emphasis on user experience and business possibilities, which has become the need of the hour.

K

Krishnendu Chatterjee

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a year ago

After completing BDes course from Somaiya School of Design, students can find the following job roles:

Somaiya School of Design Placement: Job Roles

Product Designer

CAD Designer

Product Manager

PCR Layout Designer

User Experience Designer

Sustainable Material Designer

UI/UX Designer

Metabolic Pathway Designer

Web / App Designer

Bioengineering Process Designer

K

Krishnendu Chatterjee

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a year ago

Yes, Somaiya School of Design offer internships to students. First-year and second-year students of Somaiya School of Design are doing internships with partners from a wide spectrum of design and innovation ecosystem from Riidl and Somaiya School of Design. It is the during the course of internships

...more

K

Krishnendu Chatterjee

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a year ago

The list of top recruiters at Somaiya School of Design is presented below:

Somaiya School of Design: Top Recruiters

Brainologi

Just Caffeinated

Godavari Biorefineries

Kinder

Transtrak

Schbang

Helo Health

Yes Why Not?

Riidl

Praja Foundation

Cleanovo (Chromatik Design)

Factwise

K

Krishnendu Chatterjee

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a year ago

Yes, Somaiya School of Design has a dedicated Partnership & Placement Council that houses a network of Startups, Corporates, Design Studios and allied organisations who look forward to provide job opportunities to students. Other than this, the course-curriculum of BDes programme at Somaiya School o

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K

Krishnendu Chatterjee

Contributor-Level 10