The Cluster Innovation Centre (DU CIC) is a Government of India-funded center established under the aegis of the

University of Delhi The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

. It was founded in 2011 by Prof. Dinesh Singh, the then Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi, and introduced

Innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or service (economics), services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a n ...

as a credit-based course for the first time in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Establishment

The Cluster Innovation Centre was conceptualized to foster innovation and connect

academic research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

with practical applications. It was established during the tenure of Prof. Dinesh Singh, then Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi. The National Innovation Council proposed the development of 20 University Innovation Centres across the country, with CIC serving as the

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

for this initiative.

Objectives

CIC aims to develop a culture of innovation within the academic system and to connect research with societal needs. Its primary objectives include promoting innovative degree programs, educating students and faculty through innovation-focused schemes, supporting application-oriented research, and facilitating collaborations with industries, academia, and other stakeholders. It also focuses on commercializing innovations to make them accessible to end users, addressing real-world problems through student projects, and developing affordable and sustainable innovations that benefit a broad audience. Shobha_Bagai

Academic Programs

CIC offers interdisciplinary academic programs spanning

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

, and

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

levels.

Undergraduate Programs

The

Bachelor of Technology A Bachelor of Technology (BTech) is an undergraduate degree that is awarded for a higher education program in engineering. Countries Australia In Australia, the Bachelor of Technology degree is offered by RMIT University, Edith Cowan Univ ...

(B.Tech.) in

Information Technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

and

Mathematical Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

Innovations Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entit ...

is a four-year program that integrates mathematics and information technology to cultivate an innovation-driven mindset. Students in this program can earn a minor degree in fields such as

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

, or

computational biology Computational biology refers to the use of techniques in computer science, data analysis, mathematical modeling and Computer simulation, computational simulations to understand biological systems and relationships. An intersection of computer sci ...

. The

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(Honours) in

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

and

Social Sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

, offered under the "

Meta Meta most commonly refers to: * Meta (prefix), a common affix and word in English ( in Greek) * Meta Platforms, an American multinational technology conglomerate (formerly ''Facebook, Inc.'') Meta or META may also refer to: Businesses * Meta (ac ...

College" concept, is another four-year

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

program. It enables students to design their degree by majoring in fields like environmental science, tourism,

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

and

communication studies Communication studies (or communication science) is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differ ...

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

s, or

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

. This program encourages projects addressing societal issues, often in collaboration with organizations like the Delhi Jal Board,

Delhi Police The Delhi Police (DP) is the law enforcement agency for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Delhi Police falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. In 2024, the sanctioned strength of Delhi Police w ...

, National Association of the Deaf, and other

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

Postgraduate Program

The

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

(M.Sc) in

Mathematics Education In contemporary education, mathematics education—known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics—is the practice of teaching, learning, and carrying out Scholarly method, scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical know ...

is a two-year program jointly offered by the University of Delhi and

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia is a Public university, public and research university located in Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British R ...

. This program aims to innovate mathematics

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

by integrating interdisciplinary methods, such as

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...

, projects, and

participatory learning Citizen participation or public participation in social science refers to different mechanisms for the public to express opinions—and ideally exert influence—regarding political, economic, management or other social decisions. Participato ...

, with a focus on using technology to enhance education. The Academic Building of Cluster Innovation Centre

Doctoral Research

CIC offers Ph.D. Programs under the Faculty of Technology with an interdisciplinary approach. Research areas include mathematics, information technology,

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

, computational biology,

nanotechnology Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...

, environmental sciences, humanities and social sciences, media and communication studies, and psychology.

Admissions

Before 2022, Delhi University conducted a Delhi University Entrance Test (DUET) for admission into the Cluster Innovation Centre. In the present day, admissions to CIC’s programs are conducted through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Ph.D. admissions are based on the

National Eligibility Test The National Eligibility Test (NET) is a standardised test conducted at the national level by various agencies of the Government of India. It assesses candidates' eligibility for research fellowships, specifically the Junior Research Fellowship ( ...

(NET) scores conducted by the

National Testing Agency The National Testing Agency (NTA) is an autonomous body of Department of Higher Education (India), Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education (India), Ministry of Education of India. It was established in November 2017 to conduct ...

(NTA).

Fee structure

The fee structure for CIC’s programs varies. The B.Tech program costs ₹40,000 per year, while the BA (Hons.) and M.Sc. programs each cost ₹22,375 per year. The Ph.D. program has an annual fee of ₹4,450.

Campus

The Cluster Innovation Centre is currently located inside the University Stadium building of the University of Delhi. This stadium is located inside the Delhi University Sports Complex, that in-turn is adjoint to the Viceregal Lodge (Vice Chancellor's Office) and Faculty of Science of the University's North Campus. The campus area of this block is 67 acres (27 ha). The campus is connected to the

Delhi Metro The Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system that serves Delhi and the adjoining satellite cities of Faridabad, Gurugram, Noida, Bahadurgarh, and Ballabhgarh in the National Capital Region (India), National Capital Region of India. The system cons ...

through Vishwavidyalaya metro station of Yellow Line.

Design Innovation Centre (DIC)

CIC administers a Design Innovation Centre (DIC), established under the Ministry of MSME. DIC operates within the framework proposed by the National Innovation Council, which envisioned the establishment of similar design innovation centres in prominent educational institutions like

IIT Delhi Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT- Delhi) is a public institute of technology located in Delhi, India. It is one of the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology created to be a Centre of Excellence for India's training, research and developme ...

IIT Bombay The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT- Bombay or IIT-B) is a Public university, public research university and Institute of technology, technical institute in Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. IIT Bombay is mainly known for the hig ...

IIT Guwahati The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT Guwahati) is a public technical university established by the Government of India, located in Amingaon, North Guwahati, in the state of Assam in India. It is the sixth Indian Institute of Tech ...

, and

IISc Bangalore The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The institute was established in 1909 wi ...

. These centres operate on a "Hub and Spoke" model, promoting collaboration among academia, industry, and society to develop impactful innovations. The centre includes facilities such as a Technology Business Incubator, which provides lab access, workshops, and mentorship to startups in a PPP model.https://cic.du.ac.in/userfiles/downloads/DIC/CIC%20DU%20TBI%20Brochure.pdf The DIC operates within the framework proposed by the National Innovation Council, which envisioned the establishment of similar design innovation centres in prominent educational institutions like

, and

. These centres, following a 'Hub and Spoke' model, are designed to bring together academia, industry, and society to identify and develop impactful innovations.

References

Notes

Citations

External links

DU launches CIC
on

MSN News MSN is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps provided by Microsoft. The main webpage provides news, weather, sports, finance and other content curated from hundreds of different sources that Microsoft has partnere ...

Office of the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure & Innovations

Prime Minister's speech on CIC
at

Press Information Bureau The Press Information Bureau, commonly abbreviated as PIB, is a nodal agency of the Government of India under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Based in National Media Centre, New Delhi, Press Information Bureau disseminates informati ...

* on India EduNews
DRDO, Ministry of Defence, and CIC MOUNational Innovation Council membersUniversity Innovation ClusterIndia to set up Cluster Innovation Centres
- SIID{{Dead link, date=November 2019, bot=InternetArchiveBot, fix-attempted=yes
Concept Note on Establishment of Design Innovation Centres
- HRD Ministry Delhi University Innovation in India Engineering colleges in Delhi Engineering universities and colleges Engineering universities and colleges in India Educational institutions established in 2011 Education in Delhi