Mission Utthan launched in Mangaluru

Mangaluru: To help bridge the gap between academia, industry, and rural development, Mission Utthan was launched in Mangaluru recently, under the aegis of the office of the principal scientific adviser, govt of India. The initiative aims to enhance the capabilities of Tier 2 and Tier 3 educational institutions, fostering holistic advancements in research, innovation, and entrepreneurship, said founder director of Section Infin 8 Foundation, Vishwas US.
He told reporters on Saturday, that the key pillars of Mission Utthan are industry-academia synergy for R&D support, which will facilitate internships, industry faculty exchange programmes, and research fellowships to address real-world challenges. Global expertise and capacity building include partnering with foreign universities and think tanks to provide sabbaticals, joint degree programmes, and knowledge exchange platforms. Establishing smart village centres to drive entrepreneurship, frugal innovation, and economic empowerment, implementing physical and digital learning models, leadership programmes for women in STEM, and community-focused technology outreach, as well as enhancing research outcomes through specialised workshops on literature review, problem-solving, intellectual property rights (IPR) management, and statistical methodologies.
As part of Mission Utthan, plans are to establish eight incubation centres in the district through academic collaborations. Partnerships have already been secured with Canara Engineering College, St Joseph Engineering College, and Shri Madhwa Vadiraja Institute of Technology and Management. Spearheaded by Section Infin 8 Foundation in the southern states, the initiative will roll out in phases, starting with Mangaluru and Tumakuru.
A key focus of the mission is the establishment of smart village centres to promote entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic empowerment. These centres will be integrated with 15 advanced technologies provided free of cost by IITs to develop sustainable models, said Vishwas.
"We are in discussions with Mangaluru SEZ, GAIL, Cardolite, Nitte Deemed to be University, and Campco Limited to sponsor 11 such centres in rural areas of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi through CSR funding," he said.
Sapna Poti, director, strategic alliances, office of the principal scientific adviser, stated that the recently held IDFC First Bank Emerge 2025, the startup festival, was chosen as the flagship platform to unveil this mission. The logo design competition was also announced, inviting creative minds to contribute to the mission's identity.