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Design Thinking: As a method rooted in user empathy, Design Thinking was introduced
through its five stages—Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test. In one instance, a Incubation, Innovation and Startups
master's class in environmental studies documented household water wastage in three
villages, framed the challenge (“How might rural families know when their tank is full?”), ...Centre for Advancing and Launching Enterprises
prototyped a float-based colour strip and tested it with ten homes. The project was based
on a mandatory field-work credit, yet delivered deeper engagement than many lab CrAdLE (Centre for Advancing and Launching Enterprises), EDII's Technology Business
experiments because it began with empathy and ended with community feedback.
Incubator initiated in 2016 was catalysed and supported by the National Science and
Effectuation Thinking: Instead of 'Write a five-year plan,' the class was given the brief – Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), Department of Science and
'What can you build with Rs. 500 and your current network?' Students start by taking stock Technology, Govt. of India. CrAdLE has been guiding, supporting and mentoring tech-
of themselves—what they're good at, what they enjoy, and who they can reach out to. based startups with a focus on sectors such as manufacturing, food processing, renewable
Then they test out a simple idea- a note-summary service for juniors, weekend snack energy, healthcare and other emerging sectors.
deliveries in the hostel or designing quick posters for college clubs. Their reflections on
what worked and what didn't often reveal more than any textbook. Till July 2025, 136 startups have been incubated by CrAdLE. Significant activities of June
and July' 2025 include the following
Quick Activities That Fit Tight Timetables
• As a host institute under the MSME Innovative Scheme, EDII participated in the MSME
• Mini Challenge Rs. 100 value (72 hours): Teams create any form of value, whether Idea Hackathon 4.0 launched in 2024 and received an encouraging response with 69
economic, social, or emotional, using Rs. 100 or less.
• Poster pitch (45 minutes): Explain an idea to a non-expert in two minutes using one startup applications. From these, two startups from EDII were shortlisted to receive
poster. Hallway voting, simple rubric. funding support of Rs. 15 lakhs each.
• Founder–investor role play (60 minutes): Two-minute founder pitch, probing by • On June 25th, 2025, Mr. Arunabh Sinha, Founder of UClean, delivered an insightful
“angels,” score for clarity, problem fit, and testability.
• Flip a failure (40 minutes): Take a failed idea, pivot it. What assumption broke, what session on 'Identifying & Validating Untapped Opportunities in Unorganized Sectors'.
new segment or offer emerges now? Drawing from his experience in transforming India's laundry industry, he shared how
• Social Innovation Sprints: Ask students to design frugal solutions to campus UClean leveraged technology to transform an unorganized sector into a scalable
issues—mental health, energy use, waste management—using zero extra funds. business. Over 120 startups, innovators, students and ecosystem stakeholders joined
the engaging session.
These activities help students experience ambiguity, navigate constraints, collaborate
meaningfully, and, most importantly, reflect on their learning. Faculty are motivated to use • Omspace Rocket & Exploration Private Limited, an Indian space-tech startup incubated
existing class hours, encourage peer feedback and celebrate effort and experimentation at CrAdLE has successfully raised $3 million in a pre-seed funding round. The
rather than perfect outcomes. investment, led by a Family Office and an Angel Investor, marks a significant milestone in
Omspace's journey to develop Infinity One, an indigenous, modular launch vehicle
Assessment That Protects Experimentation designed for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite missions.

Grades can unintentionally punish risk if we reward polished business reports over
learning. A practical split that works well is 40% on process evidence (research logs,
iteration history), 30% on reflection quality and only 30% on final concept viability. This
signals that smart action and honest learning have academic value.

Way Forward

Pick one place in your current syllabus where students already tinker, compare, fix, or
persuade. Create an EIAP cycle around that moment. Give them a short field task, a quick
idea burst, a tiny test, and a clear two-minute share-out. Debrief hard. Do it once, then
again. You will see confidence rise, and with it, the quality of thinking. If there's one clear
takeaway, it's this: entrepreneurial thinking can be taught, but not through instruction
alone. The students need opportunities to try, to build, to make mistakes, and to reflect.
The faculty plays a key role in making that possible by reimagining assignments, connecting
Wennovation, the flagship initiative of Karnavati Innovation and Incubation Foundation
classroom material to real-world challenges, and giving students room to take initiative.
Every subject has space for this kind of learning. Institutions like EDII are here to support (KIIF), Karnavati University, aims at empowering women in technology and entrepreneurship.
that shift by offering practical teaching methods, valuable tools, and room to experiment. Mr. Dhruv Patel, representing CrAdLE – EDII, was invited as a Jury Member at the Grand Finale
of WEnnovation to evaluate innovative business ideas presented by women innovators from
In a world that rewards those who can think and act in uncertainty, helping students
across the country.
develop this mindset isn't an add-on. It's essential.
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