Supporting the nation’s start-up and innovation ecosystem has been amongst the main educational priorities of Gujarat-based PU which has once again put the State on the educational map by emerging amongst the top HEIs in the country to receive a full star rating for its innovation achievements. The Institution’s Innovation Council annual report brings to the limelight some of the highest and top-performing Institutes and Universities in the country through an in-depth assessment and evaluation of the entrepreneurship related initiatives of such institutions. Going beyond its previous record, PU has made a milestone achievement by securing an overall score of 4 out of 4 bringing the University to the Top of India’s innovation league. Throughout the year, the students and faculty mentors of PU have been extensively working towards solving countless challenges through highly innovative solutions. 

The Institution's Innovation Council is an initiative of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, which has been dedicated towards developing highly effective innovation practices in higher educational institutions across the country. PU has been making strides in entrepreneurship and innovation through its Entrepreneurship Development Centre which has been dedicated towards developing and elevating start-up culture across the nation. This year’s annual report featured over 2,680 HEIs with established IICs from across the country, including IITs and NITs amongst which PU stood with an overall score of 100 out of 100. The report featured 3 streams of evaluation in which PU managed to secure the total score along with an additional reward of 156.667 points. 

Primarily, the IICs’ role is to engage a number of faculties, students and staff in various innovation and entrepreneurship related activities such as ideations, problem solving, proof of concept development, design thinking, IPR, project handling and management at pre-incubation and incubation stages amongst other spheres. It is within these parameters that PU was granted this rating as a testament to its leading efforts in the scope of entrepreneurship. The University has structured its curriculum in such a way that provides its students with a unique and comprehensive exposure to innovative practices during their academic journey across all streams. 

Attaining the complete score in IIC’s model makes apparent the impact which PU through its flagship entrepreneurship events and initiatives has made. This model integrates the functionalities of flexible calendar activities, scoring, reward systems, decentralizing operation with division of work, progress monitoring and incentive mechanisms through a robust digital platform. The University’s Entrepreneurship Development Centre, has been extensively working towards fostering an innovation ecosystem in the PU campus, the city of Vadodara, the state of Gujarat and now the nation of India. “As a University, we are truly proud of the recognition our entrepreneurship and innovation efforts have gotten and I believe this full rating serves as a testimony of our commitment of ushering India's future as a Nation for Innovation”, said the University’s President, Dr. Devanshu J Patel.