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The prizes were distributed by Minister of state for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan at a function held in New Delhi on August 28.
According to a press release, there were over 190 entries for the competition and 18 teams were short-listed for a final round. After the presentations, five teams were picked for the awards. Stanford India Biodesign team (AIIMS & IIT Delhi), New Delhi, bagged the first prize and the second went to Senior Research Fellow of CSIR, Centre for Nanobioscience, Agarkar Research Institute, Pune.
The event is an Innovative Technology Business Plan Competition that provides an avenue of opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs to explore and share ideas and gain insight for commercialising their venture through the mentoring and networking support that are integral to the competition. The competition was organised jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) and Intel Corporation.
The Manipal University team comprised, Dr Manjit Mapara, a Post Graduate student of Manipal College of Dental Sciences and S M Abdul Khader, a faculty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. The IUSSTF appointed Dr Manohara Pai M M, Associate Director –Innovation centre, MIT to mentor the team and to prepare the Business plan.
The business plan on Indigenous Dental Implants presented by the Manipal university team is about making a new biotechnology accessible to the general Indian population and also to enhance the surgical skills of Indian dentists in the field of implantology. The technology involves a special laser treated bioactive surface for the dental implant.
The product aims at attracting a huge market comprising upper middle class and middle class population with the cost advantage.