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01-09-15
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Avery Dennison Foundation recognizes talent in India

The Avery Dennison Foundation has announced its fourth Spirit of Invention (InvEnt) scholarship award in Gurgaon, India, and has honored 10 Indian students from five institutions for their ‘outstanding innovation capabilities’ in engineering, science and technology.

Alicia Procello Maddox, president of the Avery Dennison Foundation, said: ‘The Avery Dennison Foundation is committed to improving the communities in which we operate, and supporting education is part of this commitment. We recognize the need for talent development to nurture effective leaders of the future. We hope that by encouraging the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship among students we can help them pursue their dream careers. We are excited to play a part in the journey of these 10 students from India as they get ready to take on new opportunities in their future.’

The participating Indian institutes this year included Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani; M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore; MIT, Manipal; Pune Vidhyarthi Griha's College of Engineering and Technology, Pune; and St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi. Winning students were chosen through a merit-based, rigorous two-stage selection process, first at the college level and then the second at an independent selection committee level.

The program recognized a number of innovations such as Rescue Band, which is designed to aid human beings affected by natural or unnatural calamities by developing a prototype wristband; Plaster Spray, a spray available in a deodorant kind of a bottle that hardens on application to form a thick wafer like layer when exposed to air; Safe Route Detection Application, aimed at preventing crime against women. This project has been conceptualized to suggest the safest route between two locations, based on the geographical model of crime intensities. Helio Tracker is intended to optimize solar power installations, and is aimed at building a device that imitates the Sunflower's ability to continually turn to face toward the sun, enhancing the amount of energy absorbed by solar panels.

Anil Sharma, vice president and managing director of Avery Dennison Materials Group in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, said: ‘We invite five universities to participate that understand who might be a good applicant for us. These universities are decided every year on the basis of their academic standing and printing or engineering industrial space that they cater to so students who are selected can be given deeper understanding at Avery Dennison. We are looking at providing visibility to other premier institutes in India that don’t have a lot of funding.

‘This facilitation is a positive stroke for these students that will enable them to drive their passions harder. It is aimed at driving fresh thinking, let them think beyond academics and let the students discover their passion and articulate it. This program is about creating a right mindset and non-conformist thinking.’

The 10 students in India received 1,300 USD each (approximately INR 86,000) as a part of their scholarship awards.