Amrita Vidyalayam Thalassery students team, AV Innovators, comprising of Vrinda, Adidev and Sneha made it to the top 20 innovators of ATL Marathon 2019 for their project titled “Sonic Power Saver”. Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog declared this result of its flagship national annual Innovation Marathon challenge. Over 5000 Atal Tinkering Labs across the country had participated in this Marathon.
With the central theme as “Research, Ideate, Innovate, Implement – Mindful Innovation for the Greater Good”, this year’s marathon was uniquely designed by the students themselves. Phase-I of the challenge included crowdsourcing of the problems faced by students in the communities surrounding them. Phase 1 saw about 4300 plus entries. Phase-II included voting on the shortlisted problem statements. About 5000 plus votes were garnered as the students chose the problems that resonated with them the most. The Marathon this year had a strong focus on Research preceding the Innovations.
Four different problem areas were shortlisted on the basis of Phase I and Phase II – Enabling a Sustainable Environment and Justice, Enabling Outcome-Driven Quality Education, Enhancing Health and Hygiene, Ensuring Inclusivity and Equality. The students identified community problems of their choice in one or more of the above four problem areas and developed innovative solutions in the form of working prototypes or minimum viable product (MVP).
The final phase of solution development received over 1191 entries from students across 29 States and UTs of the country. After a rigorous evaluation process, the top 150 teams were selected. The 150 teams were interviewed by a team of scientists and based on their review, the top 20 innovators were selected.
