DATABASE
SRISTI LAB
About 15 years ago, on a cloudy afternoon, a middle-aged man with greying hair entered my room and said, âProfessor Gupta, I am a chartered accountant in Mumbai and work with a family trust which is interested in supporting socially useful initiatives. We have checked everything about you and SRISTI (Society for Research and Initiative for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions).
Is there a dream that has remained unfulfilled? I was a bit flabbergasted. How can a stranger make such a generous offer so directly and precisely?
GYTI
Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Awards celebrates the spirit of student innovation in all the fields of engineering, science, technology and design through extremely affordable/frugal solution or the ones pushing the technological edge. These could deal for example, with a) communities at grassroots, b) co-creation with grassroots innovators, c) manufacturable technologies for saving or generating energy, sanitation, water purification, saving material consumption, d) biotechnology and medical devices, e) diagnostics, f) assistive devices for physically challenged, and all others areas of social and industrial applications.
One can submit more than one application in hard-core manufacturing areas, including but not restricted to aerospace, transportation, construction, textile, electronics, Nano-technologies, computer science applications etc.
BIONEST
SRISTI Innovations-BIRAC’s BioNEST is a business incubator, an entity funded by BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, Department of Biotechnology, Govt. Of India), where innovations based on ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking, traditional knowledge, innovations at the grassroots level, innovations by university students and even children are supported for successful product development and commercialization.
We support innovations from both formal and informal sectors. The incubator caters to sectors like biotechnology, biological sciences, environmental sciences, food technology, medical science and technology, nanotechnology, pharmacy, rural development and allied areas.
SUMMER SCHOOL
Every summer when there are holidays, parents are concerned about their children, particularly those who are not yet trapped in exam fever. The college students look for internship, summer school or other activities to build their skills. Some just want to have fun.
Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions [SRISTI] and Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network [GIAN] are organizing several summer schools every year in collaboration with FAB LAB of National Innovation Foundation [NIF] at Grambharti, Amrapur.
SHODHYATRA
Shodh Yatra is to undertake a journey for the search of knowledge, creativity and innovations at the grassroots. Shodh Yatra is an attempt, on the part of SRISTI, to reach out to the most remote parts of the country with a firm belief that the hardship and challenges of natural surroundings are prime motivators of creativity and innovations. Shodh Yatra aims at unearthing such traditional knowledge and grassroots innovations. Shodh Yatra is also a journey of mutual exchange and sharing of knowledge.
Whatever knowledge and practices that we have pooled in, over the years are shared with the villagers during the Shodh Yatra. We also share the Honey Bee database with the villagers. Shodh Yatra is also a journey undertaken to spread green consciousness and we do it by involving women and children to display their ecological knowledge through various competitions.
TECHPEDIA
Techpedia, an initiative at SRISTI aims at putting the problems of micro, small and medium enterprises, informal sector, grassroots innovators and other social sectors on the agenda of the young technology students across the country. For over last sixty years, India has not utilized much the technological outputs of millions of students. But no more.
Can a knowledge society really afford to ignore the huge talent distributed in thousands of polytechnics, diploma and degree colleges of engineering, pharmacy, medical science, agriculture etc.?
SRISTI is providing a platform for the industry and academic institutions to collaborate, co-create and foster distributed and horizontal innovations. Most of the ideas mentioned here have been implemented and the initial results are shown extremely encouraging.
SATTVIK - TRADITIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL
SATTVIK the festival to celebrate traditional nutritious food and associated knowledge systems was started fourteen years ago at the IIM-A, to provide market based incentives for conserving agro-biodiversity. Creation of demand for rarely or less cultivated nutritionally rich crops and varieties may stimulate their cultivation. The paradox of development is that the food rich eat, is often poor. While food that poor grow in poorer regions is richer.
In less rainfall regions, soil minerals dont leach much and thus crops grown there like millets, sorghum pulses, etc., are richer.
This festival aspires to put the lesser known but nutrient-rich food from various states on the plate of urban communities helping them to adopt healthier food habits and lifestyle. The festival also hopes to encourage the farmers to grow such crops and augment their incomes. Thus, we seek your presence and participation in the event.