Expanding India’s STEAM horizon: IIT Jammu’s push for inclusive innovation

As India sharpens its focus on innovation-led growth and the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology Jammu are reimagining the role of engineering education beyond classrooms and degrees. IIT Jammu's Udyamitsav and Pragyaan initiatives are integrating hands-on education, entrepreneurial spirit, and community engagement to foster a more inclusive innovation system. In this conversation, Prof. Manoj Singh Gaur, Director, IIT Jammu, outlines how these platforms reflect the Institute’s academic strategy, its engagement with schools and educators, and its broader ambition to nurture future-ready engineers, entrepreneurs, and leaders from emerging geographies. Edited excerpts.

ET: Udyamitsav and Pragyaan are positioned as more than annual festivals. How do these initiatives reflect IIT Jammu’s broader strategy of embedding experiential learning and entrepreneurship into formal engineering education?
Manoj Singh Gaur (MSG): At IIT Jammu, experiential learning and entrepreneurship are not treated as extracurricular add-ons, but as integral components of engineering education. Udyamitsav and Pragyaan function as living extensions of the classroom, where theoretical concepts are tested through real-world application. These platforms enable students to engage in problem-solving, innovation, leadership, and decision-making in authentic contexts whether through startup expos, simulations, technology demonstrations, or interdisciplinary projects. Collectively, they reflect IIT Jammu’s broader strategy of aligning curriculum, co-curricular activities, and outreach with national priorities such as innovation, self-reliance, and industry relevance, thereby preparing students to be solution-oriented engineers and entrepreneurs.


ET: With participation from over 6,000 school students across Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh, Pragyaan 2026 signals a strong regional outreach. How important is early STEAM exposure in shaping India’s long-term innovation pipeline, especially from emerging geographies?
MSG: Early exposure to STEAM is critical for nurturing curiosity, confidence, and creative thinking at a formative stage. For regions like Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh where access to advanced laboratories, role models, and research environments may be limited initiatives like Pragyaan play a transformative role. They help demystify science and engineering, making innovation aspirational and accessible. By engaging students early through hands-on experiments, maker spaces, and interaction with IIT students and faculty, Pragyaan strengthens India’s long-term innovation pipeline by broadening participation, discovering latent talent, and ensuring that future innovators emerge from diverse and inclusive geographies.



ET: Youth is seen as the driving force behind Viksit Bharat 2047. From IIT Jammu’s perspective, what specific skills, mindsets, or capabilities must today’s students develop to translate this vision into reality?
MSG: To realise the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, today’s students must develop a strong foundation in technical competence, coupled with adaptability, ethical responsibility, and systems thinking. Beyond domain knowledge, skills such as critical thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, resilience in the face of failure, and entrepreneurial mindset are essential. Equally important is cultivating a sense of social responsibility using technology not just for innovation, but for inclusive and sustainable development. IIT Jammu emphasises these capabilities through project-based learning, innovation challenges, leadership forums, and exposure to real-world problem contexts.


ET: India’s space mission is linked with leadership, resilience, and failure. Why is it important for technical institutions to expose students to such cross-domain role models beyond conventional academia and industry?
MSG: Cross-domain role models such as those from India’s space missions demonstrate that success in complex technological endeavours requires more than technical brilliance. They embody leadership, teamwork, perseverance, and the ability to learn from failure. Exposure to such narratives helps students internalise that innovation is iterative and often non-linear. For technical institutions, this is crucial in shaping well-rounded professionals who can navigate uncertainty, manage large-scale systems, and lead with confidence. These role models inspire students to think beyond conventional career pathways and to approach challenges with courage and long-term vision.


ET: Udyamitsav featured practical simulations like a Startup Expo and a mock IPL auction. How do such hands-on formats help bridge the gap between classroom knowledge and real-world business decision-making?
MSG: Hands-on simulations translate abstract concepts into tangible experiences. Activities like startup expos and mock IPL auctions immerse students in environments where they must analyse data, assess risk, allocate resources, and make strategic decisions under constraints. These formats mirror real-world business dynamics uncertainty, competition, teamwork, and accountability which are difficult to fully capture through lectures alone. By engaging students in such experiential settings, Udyamitsav helps bridge the gap between theoretical learning and practical decision-making, fostering entrepreneurial thinking and managerial competence.


ET: Initiatives like the Principals’ Conclave and Rubrics indicate a strong focus on educators and ecosystem building. How does IIT Jammu envision sustained collaboration with schools to strengthen India’s STEAM education framework?
MSG: IIT Jammu views schools and educators as long-term partners in building a robust STEAM ecosystem. Through platforms like the Principals’ Conclave and Rubrics, the Institute aims to move beyond one-time outreach toward sustained engagement. This includes faculty teacher interactions, curriculum enrichment, pedagogical training, access to IIT-led resources, and collaborative student programmes. By working closely with school leadership and teachers, IIT Jammu seeks to co-create scalable models of STEAM education that integrate inquiry-based learning, technology-enabled pedagogy, and continuous mentorship.


ET: As IIT Jammu positions itself as a nationally relevant, innovation-driven institution, what differentiates its approach to entrepreneurship and outreach from more established IITs, and what should stakeholders watch for in the next phase of its growth?
MSG: As a relatively young IIT, IIT Jammu has the advantage of building its innovation and outreach ecosystem with agility and inclusivity at its core. Its approach is characterised by deep regional engagement, strong integration of outreach with academic objectives, and an emphasis on interdisciplinary and socially relevant innovation. Rather than replicating legacy models, IIT Jammu is designing context-responsive platforms that connect schools, industry, startups, and society. In the next phase, stakeholders can expect strengthened incubation and industry partnerships, expanded national level outreach, and deeper integration of innovation-driven learning into formal academic programmes.