Chandigarh, February 6: The Postgraduate Department of Commerce at Mehr Chand Mahajan DAV College for Women, under the aegis of Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC), organised a two-day workshop on Design Thinking, Critical Thinking and Innovation Design. The workshop aimed to foster creativity, analytical ability, and innovation awareness among students from diverse academic streams.
The workshop commenced with a session on Foundations of Design Thinking and Innovative Mindset by Mr. Paramdeep Singh Anand, Co-founder, FieldAssist, Gurugram. Through engaging activities and practical illustrations, he familiarised students with the structured approach of design thinking, emphasising the importance of understanding user needs, avoiding assumptions, and evaluating ideas on the parameters of desirability, feasibility, and viability.
The second session on Critical Thinking and Problem Validation was delivered by Dr. Muneer Ahmad Dar, Joint Director, NIELIT Chandigarh. He underscored the growing relevance of digital innovation and critical thinking in the contemporary scenario. Encouraging students to become active learners, Dr. Dar elaborated on distinguishing facts from assumptions, identifying logical fallacies, and the necessity of accurate problem identification and validation prior to proposing solutions.
On the second day, Dr. Nidhi Tanwar, Assistant Professor, PEC, conducted a session titled From Ideas to Impact: Innovation Design, Ideation, and Early TRL Mapping. She explained structured ideation techniques and introduced the concept of Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), with special emphasis on early stages such as idea generation, concept development, and initial validation, motivating students to work on ideas with practical relevance.
The concluding session- Prototyping for Progress: TRL-4 Development and Navigating the YUKTI Innovation Repository, was conducted by Dr. Shilpi Chaudhary, Assistant Professor (Physics). She discussed prototype development and traced the journey of innovations from laboratory testing to real-world application. Students were also guided on innovation documentation and registration through the YUKTI Innovation Repository.
Officiating Principal Ms. Neena Sharma remarked that such initiatives play a pivotal role in nurturing an innovation-driven mindset among students and preparing them to address real-world challenges with creativity and confidence.