A REPORT ON AN EDUCATIONAL VISIT TO ECH- INCUBATION CENTRE, RAJASTHAN UNIVERSITY

DATE OF VISIT- 27 July 2023

VISITORS- Prof. Priyanka Mathur, Dr. Anju Sharma, Students pursuing Ph.D., Masters and B Sc Honors in Zoology

An Educational visit to the 'Entrepreneurship and Career Hub - Incubation Center' at Rajasthan University was organized by the Department of Zoology, IIS (deemed to be University) on 27 July 2023. A total of 23 students pursuing Masters, Honors, and Ph.D. courses were privileged to gain knowledge from such exposure. The students were escorted by Prof. Priyanka Mathur and Dr. Anju Sharma.

Professor P.J. John, Co-ordinator of ECH-Incubation Centre, guided the students about start-ups and the process of building an idea into a successful career. He briefed them about the overarching vision and objectives of the incubation center, how it helps innovative ideas grow into profitable business models, and the kind of mentorship and guidance it provides to student entrepreneurs. The funding schemes provided by the government and facilitated by the university, such as UNITE and SPICE, were explained to students, as well as light was shed on the important topic of ‘Women Entrepreneurship’.

Faculty members of the center familiarized students with various labs, such as the Bio lab, plant tissue culture lab, setup lab, microbiology lab, and core lab. Highly advanced machinery with great accuracy, such as a spectrophotometer used to measure the intensity of light (number of photons), and a Vacuum rotary evaporator used to remove solvents from samples like plant extracts, was demonstrated.

In addition to that, equipment like High-Performance Liquid Chromatography, Thermal Cycler,RT-PCR,COD digester, Gas chromatography, Vacuum mixer homogenizer, and Plant growth chamber were also introduced. The lab was equipped with advanced tools for cellular-level studies, including a digital cell counter, flow cytometer, and light microscope with 4k resolution.

The center was also equipped with a well-furnished office area to fulfill the basic workspace needs of the entrepreneurs. A unique feature was the scale-up lab, where researchers/inventors can work on accomplishing pilot projects.

Students were encouraged to pursue careers as entrepreneurs by highlighting various successful startups initiated by students at the university level, such as recycling of E-waste and reselling the chemicals to the industry, and the development of an antibacterial clothing line using block printing, etc.

This visit provided the students with immense knowledge about various high-tech research machines, their applications, methods of sample analysis, and result prediction, etc. The department also assured students of the opportunity to conduct their research work in these labs in the future. In conclusion, this successful educational exposure visit achieved its objective of providing new and beneficial learning experiences.