INNOVATIVE IDEAS: Competition The human mind is a storehouse of ideas, some of which have been turned through persistent effort into great discoveries and inventions. According to legend, it was a falling apple, a common enough sight, that intrigued Isaac Newton and led to the theory of gravity. Newton's work heralded a revolution that was at the heart of the Renaissance in Europe in the Middle Ages. Likewise, Thomas Edison, considered the greatest inventor, turned hazy ideas into brilliant inventions like the light bulb by his persistence. Thus, two elements have gone into such great breakthroughs in science and technology: ideas, or the creative instinct of the human mind, and persistence, or diligent effort.
This power of innovation is latent in all, particularly the young, but is rarely developed or encouraged. Hence, the NIO Staff Club is organising a competition called “Innovative ideas” as part of the NIO Foundation Day celebrations on 1 January 2011. The competition is open to all, but is particularly aimed at the young undergraduate students in Goa. Hence, there are two categories: the first consists of undergraduate students from any college in Goa and the second consists of all others. The competition will be held on 13 December 2010 in the NIO Auditorium in Dona Paula. The best three entries in each category will win cash prizes of Rs. 5000/-, Rs. 3000/-, and Rs. 2000/-. The prizes will be presented on 1 January 2011 during the NIO Foundation Day celebrations in NIO. Terms and conditions: * The competition will be conducted in two categories. (1) Undergraduate students from any college in Goa. (2) Others. (This category includes post-graduate and school students, teachers or faculty, research scholars, and anyone who is not an undergraduate student at this time.) The category under which the entry is being submitted should be clearly stated. * Permanent staff of NIO may also send in their entries, but they will not be eligible for the cash prizes. * Entries may be sent by individuals or groups, but the groups should be limited to a maximum of three persons. * Each person or group may send only one entry. * Each entry should consist of a brief write-up, not exceeding 500 words. This write-up should set out clearly the motivation, the objective, and a plan (which may be tentative) for achieving the objective. If the idea builds on something existing, then a comment on the current status should be included. * The idea should be original and MUST NOT be downloaded from the Internet or be readily available in some form elsewhere. The idea must demonstrate out-of-the-box thinking in one of four themes. o Health o Environment o The Earth System (Earth, Atmosphere, and Ocean) o Energy and Technology * The competition will be conducted in two phases. o The 15 best ideas from each category will be selected by a high-level committee and the selected ideas will have to be presented before a jury on 13 December 2010 in the NIO Auditorium (Caridum). The presentation can be done either using an LCD projector or a demonstration (if it involves experimental hardware). * The best three entries in each category will be selected by the jury on the basis of these presentations. * The decision of the judges will be final. Key dates: * Last date for receiving entries: 19 November 2010. Mail the entries by 5:30 pm IST on 19 November 2010 to Mr. Sundaresh, crazyi...@nio.org * Those selected in the first phase of the competition (i.e., those who propose the 15 selected entries in each category) will be informed of their selection for the second phase of the competition by 5 December 2010. * The presentation in the second phase will be held on 13 December 2010 at the NIO Auditorium. Presentation of awards to the winners of the competition will be done on CSIR Foundation Day, 1 January 2011. _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ tambdimati: the Goa review is a community blog of original _/ art, writing, music, news and commentary from and about the _/ smallest state in the subcontinent. check out the newest _/ member of the Goanet family daily at _/ http://www.tambdimati.com. _/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/