How is creating IP shaping up in schools?

Hans India

26-04-2025

Hyderabad: Can school students create intellectual property? As countries around the world celebrate World Intellectual Property Day on April 26, let's take a closer look at how students from schools in Telangana are contributing to the 'Ideation, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (IIE) ecosystem,' which has been introduced as part of the National Education Policy 2020.
According to data from the School Innovation Council (SIC), an initiative of the Union Ministry of Education's Innovation Cell (MIC), a total of 939 schools have submitted 149 innovations and 59 activities by school students from Telangana. This includes participation from 765 PM Shri schools and 174 non-PM Shri schools.
The initiative serves as a major tool for implementing the recently released National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Promotion Policy (NIEPP). Built on a six-pillar model, the IEE focuses on mindset change, awareness and training, infrastructure and mentoring to nurture innovations, incentivising and encouraging teachers, pedagogical innovations, collaborative partnerships between schools and communities, and intellectual property management (IPM) for school entrepreneurs.
This model is designed to cover IEE for students from Class VI to XII in three stages: foundation, preparatory, middle, and secondary. The School Innovation Contest (SIC) is the first step for students to enter the IIE ecosystem, while the School Innovation Ambassador Training Program (SIATP) plays a crucial role in training teachers to enhance their mentoring skills and foster a culture of innovation in schools. The Skilling Students in Design Thinking and Innovation (SSDT&D) is a key stage where students can experiment and innovate on their ideas, from initial concepts to prototyping, to realize their potential for turning ideas into products. The KAPILA (Kalam Program for IP Literacy and Awareness) scheme is instrumental in creating awareness about intellectual property (IP) filing among students, teachers, and faculty in schools and higher education institutions. Speaking to The Hans India, Prabhakar, a physics teacher from a non-PM Shri school, expressed that the scheme's vision is ambitious. It not only encourages creativity and innovation from as early as Class VI but also helps students protect their innovative ideas and inventions. The program aims to establish an IP filing ecosystem in schools, promoting the protection of innovative ideas and research.
Additionally, KAPILA recognises and supports IP, offering financial assistance for patent filing in educational institutions.