Programs

We are optimistic doers who dream of creating a global resource for Indian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the STEM domain and transforming the current culture of teaching, learning in India.

All our programs have a core feature of active learning & learning-by-doing known to enhance ‘deep learning’ among students and currently organised into three focus areas: –

Students Learn ‘real’ engineering skills by building real systems in multi-disciplinary teams. ( Tinkerers’ Lab & LEAP)
Encourage the introduction of project-based courses to improve students learning outcomes and Learning to Invent. ( Collaborative Classrooms & Invention Factory)
Learning Soft Skills via credit-earning courses using active learning to train students for skills essential for success in career & life. (Center for Essential Skills).

Tinkerers’ Lab

Tinkerers’ Labs are 24/7, student-managed makerspaces that enable students to experiment, exercise imagination, work together in multidisciplinary groups, toy with ideas, tinker with tools, build novel systems and convert concepts and ideas to tangible engineering products.

The Labs are equipped with the latest desktop manufacturing equipment like 3-D printers, laser cutters, milling machines, vinyl cutters, a fully-equipped electronics section and a variety of tools and machines necessary for any type of fabrication. To date, 10,000 students have benefited from access to eleven labs across colleges in India.

Center for Essential Skills (CES)

The Centre for Essential Skills ©Maker Bhavan Foundation offers 10 courses on essential cognitive, soft skills to prepare students for a seamless transition from classrooms to careers and set them up for success in work and in life. These courses enable them to be critical thinkers, real problem solvers, effective communicators and ethical leaders. The course material developed by world-renowned experts is available to colleges in India free of cost with faculty to be trained in learning outcome-focused active learning pedagogy.

Invention Factory®

Conducted in partnership with US Cooper Union Professors Alan Wolf and Eric Lima (Founders), Invention Factory® is a six-week intensive summer program in inventing where students work in teams from Science, Engineering & Design Institutes across India.

The program originated in the U.S. (has the U.S. trademark “Invention Factory”) and ran for the first time in India in 2018 summer at IIT Gandhinagar (IITGN). The program continued at IITGN in 2019 and simultaneously at IIT Gandhinagar and Bombay in 2022. Invention Factory was operated in three locations in 2023, with IIT Jammu being the most recent addition.

To date, a total of 146 students from 20 IITs and 6 NITs have participated in the program. Starting in 2024, We intend to extend the application process to include more institutes. Currently, The program boasts approximately 74 provisional patent applications in India and USA

This year, the program at IIT Gandhinagar runs from 27th May to 5th July 2024, IIT Bombay runs from 3rd June to 12th July 2024, and the program at IIT Jammu runs from 3rd June to 14th July 2024. You will report a couple of days early to the assigned institute and undergo a few orientation sessions.

2024 Winners announced

2024 Winners announced

2024 Winners announced

2024 Winners announced

Collaborative Classrooms

Technological advances and changing skill requirements of industry and businesses in the 21^st century has made it necessary that Indian engineering education update itself with a greater focus on the transmission of interdisciplinary knowledge and imparting complex skill sets to its students. Our Collaborative Classrooms enable universities to incorporate the pedagogy of active learning into their curriculum to archive targeted learning outcomes for the betterment of their students.

Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Bombay

Maker Bhavan has enabled the Dept. of Electrical Engineering (EE) at IIT Bombay (IITB) to set up Collaborative classroom and Experiential Lab with the aim to have outcome-based electrical engineering education.

This engagement-rich pedagogical approach fosters improved assimilation of concepts, encourages teamwork, and strengthens critical thinking among students.

The EE department will be conduct 5 applied courses each semester that span core areas with over 600 students benefiting every semester.

Maker Bhavan at IIT Gandhinagar

Pioneering the concept of academic maker space in India, Maker Bhavan at IIT Gandhinagar (IITGN) aims to be the, first fully functional world-class academic maker space in India.

Maker Bhavan will enable IITGN to transition to a competency focused education model by embedding active learning as a core feature of the educational experience every student at IITGN.

Two active learning classrooms have already been set up in the pilot phase and a number of project-based courses initiated benefiting 450 students.

Others

There are several other institiution focused programs that has been initiated by Maker Bhavan Foundation.

Maker Bhavan Technovation Sandbox

The programme conceived to encourage the students to create relevant, engaging, learning experiences and develop deployable solutions. The campus and its vicinity will act as a testbed for both need identification and deployment of solutions. Technovation Sandbox would give a platform to the students to gain experience in product development, leadership and entrepreneurship skills which would be useful in their subsequent careers.

Kanakia Young Researcher Fellowship

The programme has been launched at IIT Gandhinagar with the aim to attract promising young scholars to consider faculty positions at the Institute. Through this fellowship, visits by PhD students nearing completion, recent PhD graduates, and postdoctoral scholars from internationally reputed universities and research organizations can be funded to deliver seminars, short courses and other substantive engagements at the Institute.