ILGC

Innovation Lab & Grand Challenges (ILGC) studio is a series of courses that introduces students to challenges faced by our society and community that can be solved with technological capabilities. It is an integrated, project-based learning that runs through the four-year B.Tech program and offers the opportunity for students to develop an interdisciplinary appreciation for engineering from a technical and global perspective.
Student Impact Stories

These stories focus on student learnings in ILGC and a key insight from most stories reflect the focus on solving real life problems by using a user centric approach. Students learn from working in teams and from the mentorship from their faculty advisor.
Team VAAAT

Monitoring of plant health through checking salinity of soul, humidity, diseases, pests etc. Crop yield is significantly lower than it has the potential to be and farmers have low profit margins as well. A simple solution could be to create a robot with sensors to check up on these factors on a regular basis.

Team Dhruv

One of the many facets of the ILGC course is also the focus on inclusive education. A visit to the Blind School inspired Team Nayan to choose an inclusive challenge to work on via assistive technology for the visually blind. They decided to focus on how they can make the maker movement or ecology inclusive for the visually impaired students in India by addressing the issue of intangible design of the maker kit and inaccessible instructions.

Team H2Kn0w

Team H2Kn0W took on the challenge of rampant water scarcity, particularly caused by inefficient shower systems which prioritize user comfort over environmental concern. Through their ILGC project, they aim to create a future scenario in which users are aware of environmental concerns but don’t have to create a drastic change in order to save water. So, they created a quantifiable system to plant a psychological limit in the minds of users in the guise of an organizational app.

Team Smart EyeWear

With the increasing advent of technology, the exposure of harmful radiation to eyes is increasing through devices. People are still uninformed about the macular effects of blue light projection over a substantial period. Team Smart EyeWear shares their motivation to take up this challenge. The product Team Smart EyeWear is designing will actively filter out unwanted and harmful spectrum of UV & Blue light.

Team Unoffended

Team Unoffended took on their ILGC project with one goal in mind: to elevate people’s understanding of personal finance and become more conscious and knowledgeable about how to handle their money. Rishi Laddha shares, “We had to teach financial knowledge to ourselves, as we've said in our content videos, and we had mentors to guide us through it. There were professors within Plaksha and a few people outside who helped us.

Team Portable Farming

This team of 3 are passionate to address this issue by creating a sustainable, organic box with nutritious fresh vegetables.The team has spent time on the ground interviewing nursery people, gardeners and urban people to understand the issue deeply before designing the solution. They used sustainable, biodegradable and light weight material to build their prototype along with sketch, wood, 3D prints, CAD, etc.

More about ILGC


This course is a signature element of the undergraduate program and offers students an opportunity to develop an interdisciplinary appreciation for engineering. Watch this video to hear what faculty, students and teaching assistants have to say about it.
Active Projects
  • Windegy & Unoffended 2.0
  • Team UAV & Overdose
  • Tap That & NASAWALE
  • TBD & Aqua Menti
  • TruGreen & DABS
  • Coming Soon & LOMA
  • Khetilogy & Dhanpayo
Windegy & Unoffended 2.0

Windegy - Darrieus type wind turbine to eliminate conventional energy sources.

About: Conventional energy is harmful to the environment and adds to the cost of functioning of campus. A scope into how we can begin tackling such sources and cut down cost requirements to build a sustainable, design oriented and self-sufficient product.

Impact: Bringing change through impowering and promoting non-conventional energy sources such as Solar, Wind and Hydro Energy. Spreading the idea of green and clean energy in accordance with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).


Unoffended 2.0 - Building a platform to cater to digital literacy through educational modules

About: "The ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills."

Impact:​​​​​​​ Create awareness about digital literacy, providing a platform for learners and helping them grow in technological spaces.
Team UAV & Overdose

Team UAV - Agricultural UAV drones with image processing and diseased crop detection and diagnosis.

About: Identifying diseased crops and/or land areas in larger plots for agricultural use​​​​​​​.

Impact: Providing opportunity and solution to conveniently spot and access damaged hotspots around large farmlands, moreover, to stop further damage and prevent other harmful substances from growing. Through intense monitoring of lands, the product acts as an important helping hand for the farmer.


Overdose - Designing product to help do 'pet chores' easily

About: The process of taking the dog out to urinate limits the flexibility of the caretaker’s schedule without the guarantee of effective use of their time

Impact:​​​​​​​ Easy and efficient way to eliminate problems of urination for pets at home, convenient way to promote pet adoption.
Tap That & NASAWALE

Tap That - Conserving energy using piezoelectric sensors and tiles.

About: As the population increases, society dependence and demand for electricity increases. However, majority of electricity produced is through conventional sources (non-renewable resources). Addressing the stated problem, the project targets to install piezoelectric tiles to conserve, convert and consume energy stored in other beneficial areas​​​​​​​​​​​​​​.

Impact:​​​​​​​ Substantial changes in areas of energy consumption and conservation with bringing in change in outlook towards energy as not limitless.


NASAWALE - Locating and Pre-booking parking spaces using application.

About: Through intelligent parking systems and low maintenance battery-powered wireless parking sensors helps achieve the gap of hustling to get good parking spaces around cities​​​​​​​​​​​​​​.

Impact:​​​​​​​ Help easily locate and conveniently book a spot for your car. Effectively using limited spaces with Automatic Parking Systems (APS).
TBD & Aqua Menti

TBD - Eliminating paper cups from Plaksha University.

About: The consumption of paper cups around the campus area has skyrocketed. The project envisions to eliminate the use of paper cups by providing solutions through other substitutes that are more eco-friendly and can be used multiple times​​​​​​​​​​​​​​.

Impact:​​​​​​​ Curb the use of products that are indirectly harmful to the environment and are not easy to get rid of.


Aqua Menti - Wastewater reduction using efficient RO purification.

About: In the times of conservation and consumption of water. Rein -scribing the gap of high-power use, over purification and wastewater in RO purification. The project intends to curb wastewater and provide a better design system of RO’s to cater the above issue​​​​​​​.

Impact:​​​​​​​ Bringing change in quality of water, it’s treatment procedure and less wastage of water during the process.
TruGreen & DABS

TruGreen - Designing and re-imagining sustainable houses 

About: How might we reduce the overuse of synthetic, non-eco-friendly constructional practices, the end-of-life consequences in the eco- tourism sector in North India, where the number of tourists expected are higher.

Impact:​​​​​​​ Positively impactful for the environment, adding value to the nature and bringing shift towards sustainability.


DABS - Re-imagining water systems/products to reduce water wastage

About: An average RO purifier generates approximately 3 litres of reject water for every 1 litre of purified water. This means that only 25% of water is purified and the remaining 75% comes out as waste reject water which has a high level of impurities and dissolved solids and is unfit for drinking or bathing and goes down the drain, affecting the water cycle.

Impact:​​​​​​​ Reduction in water wastages with effective and efficient forms of new systems. Bringing awareness, about sustainability through water conservation. 
Coming Soon & LOMA

Coming Soon - Designing and re-imagining chairs for busy working individuals to adapt and retain healthy posture habit

About: Busy working professionals have difficulty in adapting and retaining healthy lifestyle habits due to lack of time, knowledge and awareness.

Impact:​​​​​​​ Adding value to your lifestyle, bringing it the mindset of 'right posture' to improve our systemic body aches and issues.


LOMA - Creating a prediction model for Covid-19 healthcare supply chain

About: To produce a successful mathematical modelling of evolving landscape of epidemiology (COVID-19) in 40 European countries based on inputs received from a dynamic dataset.

Impact:​​​​​​​ Reduction in emergency situations in hospitals on lack of healthcare equipment and kits. Efficient model to cater and balance the demand and supply factors. 
Khetilogy & Dhanpayo

Khetilogy - Building products for identifying hotspots in large farmlands

About: Addressing the potential gap of increasing pests and diseases in large farmlands through innovative means of technology.

Impact:​​​​​​​ Providing opportunity and solution to conveniently spot and access damaged hotspots around large farmlands, moreover, to stop further damage and prevent other harmful substances from growing.


Dhanpayo - Creating financial literacy through technology

About: ln India, only 16.7% of young adults are financially literate. India has the world's largest youth population of 356 million people, and they are the country's future. Most young adults lack preparation or confidence when it comes to financial decisions like budgeting, investing in stocks, and loan applications, and this acts as a hindrance in their path to becoming financially independent.

Impact:​​​​​​​ Bringing change in mindsets about finance, investing, budgeting etc, providing a feasible platform for learning.