Somaiya riidl is hosting the 4th edition of its annual event, Maker Mela from January 17 to 19, 2019. Maker Mela is an initiative organised by riidl (Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratory), to accelerate the Maker Movement in India and to create a community of Makers. It is a celebration of arts, crafts, engineering, biotechnology, mechanics, agriculture, scienc eand the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset.

This year’s Make Mela will host Makers from eight years to eighty-three years; from tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, hobbyists, engineers, artists, science clubs, students, authors, homesteaders, garage tinkerers to commercial exhibitors. The platform offers - connects to investors and makers community, speaker sessions, possible funding for building project prototypes and much more!

Says Samir Somaiya, President Somaiya Vidyavihar “ Our focus has always been in encouraging innovation and knowledge sharing. We believe when you provide platforms for collaboration and innovation, the barriers of age, language, country melt away and the power of the ‘idea’ shines through. We have seen the initiative grow, with makers from across India and even countries like the USA and Sweden participating in this event. Our students and indeed the community get inspired by the Maker’s, and more ideas flourish. We are happy that we have been able to play a role as facilitators.”

About Somaiya riidl (Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratory):

Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratory (riidl) was set up in the year 2010 by Somaiya Vidyavihar on its Mumbai campus. It was created to drive innovation & entrepreneurship and currently facilitates 39,000 students and 1500 faculty in the campus. In, 2014 riidl was affiliated to the Centre for Bits and Atoms (MIT USA) as a Fablab (now a Fablab Node in India) and in 2016 with support from Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, riidl became a Technology Business Incubator. The incubator operates through an autonomous not-for-profit entity model. riidl is sector agnostic and comprises of Somaiya Vidyavihar faculty, alumni and partners with like-minded organisations to promote innovations in various areas and supports different startups as per their requirement. riidl also helps in setting up labs & innovation centres at other places. The incubator helps entrepreneurs to convert their ideas into becoming successful and profitable ventures by supporting them in business planning, mentoring, recruiting their top team, commercialising their technologies, developing their products, getting early engagement and customer validations from the market, getting early stage seed funding, help in forging partnership at the national and global level, advice on intellectual property, training and development and many other things.

Inspirational Makers exhibiting include Veer (age 8), who has developed a low-cost complete home security device; Mukund Shah (age 83), who creates some exciting DIY products; Sohel (age 17), social innovator and developer of ultrasound-based Smart Blind Stick to make life easier for the blind; Prashant Gade, maker of India's first of its kind myoelectric prosthetic arm specially designed for people with low income source; Hridisha Podder (age 16) from Agartala, Tripura who has developed a waste collection and disposal model to maintain the cleanliness of railway coaches.

Last year, the event showcased the oldest e-commerce founder, Amma from Amma ki Almaari who started a business at the age of 73.

Added to the rich menu of exhibitions from Makers; talks from eminent personalities, demonstrations and performances are among the most sought-after favourites at the Maker Mela each year. Besides a YouTubers’ Panel Discussion, the speaker sessions at Maker Mela '19 promise excitement beginning with keynote speaker the much-loved humanoid robot, Robyn Inmoov - World’s first 3D printed Humanoid Robot. There will be talks from international and national speakers; experienced speakers as well as the fast and furious young maker Yashraj, who at age 18 years owns 36 Research Projects and 15 patent applications is recipient of Karmaveer Chakra Award 2016 and has also been named amongst top 10 young entrepreneurs of 2016 across the globe by success magazine. Captain Raghu Raman,Group President - Risk, Security, New Ventures, Reliance Industries Limited presented by YOUth Talks will be a part of Maker Mela.

Maker Mela 2018 was a grand success with 50,000+ visitors over a period of 3 days, and 100 Makers facilitated.

An initiative of Somaiya riidl and Somaiya Vidyavihar, Maker Mela is supported by Department of Science and Technology and Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and Maharashtra State Innovation Society.

The event will take place at the Somaiya Vidyavihar campus at Vidyavihar, Mumbai.