12/05/2025
Inauguration of IP UTSAV and Celebration of World Creativity and Innovation Day
Date of Event: April 21, 2025
Organized by: Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell (MIC) in collaboration with AICTE
Platform: YouTube Live
The event marked the inauguration of IP UTSAV, a national initiative aimed at promoting intellectual property (IP) awareness and innovation culture among academic institutions, startups, and youth. The event also celebrated World Creativity and Innovation Day, aligning with the global call to encourage creative thinking for sustainable development.
This celebration served as a curtain-raiser for a week-long series of activities across institutions to build IP literacy and showcase creative works.
Key Themes & Objectives:
1. Promotion of IP Awareness:
o Emphasis on the importance of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and designs.
o Introduction to policies and schemes available to support innovators and inventors in India.
o Encouragement for educational institutions to integrate IP education in their curricula.
2. Fostering Innovation Culture:
o Highlighting the critical role of innovation in national development.
o Showcasing successful case studies of student and faculty innovations protected through IP rights.
3. Public-Private-Academic Collaboration:
o Bringing together government bodies, academia, and industry stakeholders to discuss collaborative pathways for innovation and IP protection.
Key Speakers:
• Prof. T.G. Sitharam – Chairman, AICTE.
• Dr. Abhay Jere – Chief Innovation Officer, Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell.
• Prof. Unnat P. Pandit – Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trademarks, Government of India.
• Dr. Yogesh Brahmankar – Innovation and IP expert.
• Sacha Wunsch-Vincent – Co-Editor of the Global Innovation Index, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Event Segments
• Inaugural Address:
Delivered by senior officials from MIC and AICTE, outlining the vision for IP UTSAV and the role of educational institutions in building an innovation-driven economy.
• Panel Discussions:
Experts from legal, academic, and industrial backgrounds discussed:
o The relevance of IP in economic growth.
o Best practices for IP management at the institutional level.
o The future of innovation ecosystems in India.
• Innovation Showcase:
Selected student and faculty innovators presented their IP-protected inventions and shared their journey of ideation to protection.
• Awareness Sessions:
Informative talks and workshops were announced to be conducted throughout IP UTSAV week, including patent filing processes, IP policy formulation, and startup IP strategies.
