AKTU Convocation: Low-cost stairlift for physically challenged earns Best Social Impact Startup Award

Aradhana Kanojiya, a third-year student at the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), Lucknow, and her team bagged the Best Woman-Led Student Startup Award.

All eyes were on the winners of the three maiden Student Startup Awards initiated by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) to promote entrepreneurship among students during the convocation on Tuesday.

AKTU convcation was held on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

Aradhana Kanojiya, a third-year student at the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), Lucknow, and her team bagged the Best Woman-Led Student Startup Award. The team developed an EdTech feature that would help users browse for their searched item on YouTube and remove unnecessary content. The company is named While Network Private Limited.

The award for the Best Social Impact Student Startup Award went to Aditya Singh, a final-year engineering student at Dr Ambedkar Institute of Technology for Divyangjan, Kanpur. His company, ERepnics Private Limited, has developed a low-cost stairlift to help physically challenged persons and elderly people climb the stairs without any problem. The design currently uses a gear system, motors, and two rods as a track for the chair to go up and down.

“The overall idea is for the safe transportation of locomotive-disabled and elderly people between the floors in the building, making stairlifts a common tool for lakhs of existing buildings like temples, apartments, offices, etc.,” said Aditya. Other students who are part of this startup are Aman Sharma, Vaibhav Kumar, and Hritik Mishra.

The Best Tech Innovation Student Startup Award went to Prashant Verma, a B.Tech final-year student from Meerut. Verma and his team developed Cybershield, which will prevent fake phishing links from attacking your website. He claimed that the company has registered a ₹40 lakh turnover in two years.

These awards were conceptualised by the Innovation Hub under the direction of vice-chancellor Prof JP Pandey. Governor and chancellor Anandiben Patel honoured the students for their innovative startups.

The purpose of the Startup Award is to create an inclination towards startup and innovation among university students. This initiative will also inspire other students for startups.

Gold medalist on cloud nine

Mohsin Afroz, a BTech student in electronics and communication engineering at Meerut Institute of Engineering and Technology who bagged the chancellor gold medal, wants to pursue higher education and research. “Later I may think about my own startup in wireless technology,” he said. His father, Afroz Ahmad, is a retired government school principal, and mother, Shabnam Fatima, is a housewife. He added that regular classes and reading prescribed textbooks helped him excel in B.Tech.

Pragya Gautam of PSIT College of Engineering, Kanpur, received the Kamal Rani Varun Medal for BTech (Information technology). A software developer, Gautam said development can come only through technology.

A box

Former UP chief secretary awarded PhD

Rajendra Kumar Tiwari, former chief secretary of UP and an IAS officer of the 1985 batch, and an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and the University of Sussex UK, was conferred with a PhD by governor Anandiben Patel at the Dr Abdul Kalam Technical University convocation on Tuesday. His research topic was ‘A Study of the Public Service Delivery System in reference to the state of Uttar Pradesh.’

“The study was based on a survey of more than 1000 service recipients and 700 officers. The study has brought out a new model to measure the effectiveness of service delivery and the overall public satisfaction achieved in the process,” he said.

Tiwari has over 37 years of experience working under the state government and the government of India in various important positions, including chief secretary UP, agriculture production commissioner, additional chief secretary, commissioner, and DMs of many districts.

He is currently involved in setting up an International Institute of Water at Jodhpur in Rajasthan in association with many stakeholders. He believes that life is a continuous and unending journey of learning, and it is time to give back to society, the nation, and the world for the great opportunity and honor they have given him. He said he is grateful to the UP government, its people, officers and his family members for all the support that enabled him to undertake and complete his research work.