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Centre for
Inclusive Innovation

Centre for
Inclusive Innovation

Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar and Prof. Anil Gupta

Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar and
Prof. Anil Gupta

The Centre for Inclusive Innovation is established to honour Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar, pioneer of the “More from Less for More” (MLM) paradigm of inclusive innovation, and Prof. Anil K. Gupta, internationally acclaimed scholar of grassroots creativity, and founder of the Honey Bee Network.Their work demonstrates that innovation can be affordable, accessible, ethical, community-rooted, and capable of scaling to millions. This centre embodies their shared vision of combining science, frugality, grassroots ingenuity, and institutional systems to advance socially just and sustainable futures.

Rationale

Rationale

WPU GŌA’s transdisciplinary governance model requires Centres of Excellence to act as global validators and integrators within a system that includes Research Institutes (RIs) and Living Learning Scholar Communities (LLSCs).

This centre fulfils this mandate by enabling the university to address complex societal challenges, such as livelihoods, public health, ecological resilience, youth capability, and ethical technology, through integrated, field-embedded and research-driven inclusive innovation.

It links knowledge creation (Research Institutes), community understanding (Living Learning Scholar Communities), and global best practice (Centers of Excellence) to produce scalable, community-centred solutions.

Objectives

Objectives

  • Advance transdisciplinary research in advanced materials, manufacturing and emergent device systems.
  • Design and develop new materials and affordable green processing methodologies for multiple industrial and societal applications.
  • Foster industry-academia-policy convergence for translational impact.
  • Train next-generation researchers and engineers through experiential learning and hands-on training.
  • Build global partnerships to strengthen India’s role in advanced manufacturing and emergent device development ecosystems.

Mandate

Mandate

To catalyse frugal, inclusive, community-anchored innovation at population scale by integrating grassroots knowledge, scientific rigour, systems thinking, and transdisciplinary collaboration across Research Institutes (RIs), Living Learning Scholar Communities (LLSCs), and global innovation networks.

Activities

Activities

  • Transdisciplinary research programmes aligned with RI themes, including climate, livelihoods, social technology, and policy.
  • Field immersions and community innovation labs developed in partnership with LLSCs.
  • Teaching and mentorship in inclusive innovation, grassroots methods, frugal engineering, and enterprise.
  • Grassroots innovation scouting (Shodh Yatra-inspired engagements) in collaboration with community networks.
  • Social enterprise incubation for youth-led and community-driven ventures.
  • Policy and systems design labs collaborating with government and civic organisations.

Operational Plan

Mashelkar–Gupta Annual Innovation Lecture Series

Population-Scale Impact Summit bringing together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers

Summer/winter schools on frugal innovation, livelihoods, and social systems

LLSC-embedded community challenges and problem-solving studios

RI-aligned applied research studios for capstone programmes

Grassroots immersions across Goa and India

Fellowships for innovators, youth, and community researchers

White papers and toolkits on MLM, grassroots models, and systems innovation

Partnerships and Alliances

Industry
CSR divisions, inclusive-tech companies, digital public infrastructure initiatives, social-impact incubators.

Academia
Institutions specialising in inclusive innovation, public policy, sustainability, systems thinking, and design research.

Government
State innovation missions, rural livelihood programmes, ministries (MSME, Environment, Education), local government bodies.

Community and Civil Society
SHGs, cooperatives, grassroots innovators, NGOs, and rural and tribal communities linked to LLSCs.

Global Networks
Frugal innovation labs, grassroots innovation networks, social enterprise ecosystems.

Outcomes and Impact

Outcomes-and-Impact

Outcomes and Impact

  • Establishment of a national model for frugal and grassroots inclusive innovation
  • Creation of integrated, field-grounded, RI-aligned research outputs
  • Youth trained as integrated solution architects, capable of transforming systems
  • Strong community partnerships through LLSC structures
  • Public systems and policies influenced through evidence-based insights
  • Scaling of community-owned enterprises, cooperatives, and livelihood models
  • Enhanced global visibility for WPU GŌA’s transdisciplinary mission
Outcomes-and-Impact

Members

Members

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