S.P. Dutt Award for Innovation and Impact

The S.P. Dutt Award for Innovation and Impact is an award for excellence for first-year B.Tech students of Plaksha University. It recognizes teams with the best innovation projects in the Innovation Lab & Grand Challenge (ILGC) Studio.

The award celebrates S.P. Dutt, a former Air India official whose passion lay in technology and innovation. Dutt completed an MS in Applied Science from New York University, was a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and created original Meccano models. He also organized “Know India” seminars internationally to promote India.

Projects are presented to a jury comprising representatives from academia, the university program team and industry experts. Winning teams receive cash prizes of up to Rs 2 lakh, based on project merit. The prize can support equipment for testing and prototyping, field research travel, academic seminars and conferences, printing, fabrication and other project expenses in later semesters.

Plaksha University’s Innovation Lab & Grand Challenge Studio runs across all four years of the undergraduate program. Its courses introduce students to societal challenges and how technology can help address them. Students work on projects from their first day, developing problem-solving, fieldwork, innovation, leadership, business and teamwork skills. The university’s innovation focus includes smart agriculture, affordable health systems, sustainable urban systems, and the water-food-energy nexus.