The central government has recognised North-Eastern Hill University’s (NEHU’s) Shillong and Tura campuses as ‘host institutes’ (HI) under the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
NEHU is the only recognised academic HI institution in Meghalaya, a press release stated today.
Recently, the ministry had launched MSME Hackathon 2.0 on different themes related to agriculture, healthcare, power, information technology, service, environment, circular economy, etc. The scheme was launched on October 2, 2022. The due date for submission of proposals was October 14 but this was extended to November 14, 2022.
The idea of the MSME Hackathon sees entrepreneurs as the basis of social change which the country aspires for to lay the foundation of “New India”, fill in the gaps and find viable solutions to meet the needs of the country. The primary objective of the scheme is to promote and support untapped creativity and help in adopting the latest technologies and methods in the MSME sector. The selected ideas would be provided a funding support for nurturing and development of the idea for an amount of upto Rs 15 lakh per approved idea, through the HI chosen by them. Further details regarding the scheme are available on https://my.msme.gov.in/inc/BenefitHackathon.aspx
To date, 24 innovative ideas in different theme areas have been submitted from both Shillong and Tura campuses and more are in the pipeline. The ideas include proposals for value added fermented foods and beverages, digital mapping of crops, sustainable fashion ideas, digital solution for potable water dispensing, transportation facilitation for differently abled and elderly persons, innovative low cost healthcare devices and best practices in IT sector.
As the last date for submitting proposals for the Hackathon has been extended, the university will again hold a meeting in the first week of November for the research scholars, faculty members and whoever is interested from the community to attend. The dates for this meeting will be announced at a later date on the NEHU website (www.nehu.ac.in).
For further details regarding the scheme, those interested may approach Prof AP Pati on 03642723131/3132 or email deanemis@nehu.ac.in at NEHU’s Shillong campus or BK Mishra on 036427203651/221407 or email birendramishra14@gmail.com at NEHU’s Tura campus.