Felicitated for Securing Second Place for his Innovative Model
Port Blair, 16 April: Once again an Islands’ youth has made all the Islanders proud with his achievement at National Level. Shaheed Dweep’s Sayen Akhtar Sheikh has been felicitated for securing second place in the ‘student category’, at the National Innovation Festival, held recently at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The Hon’ble President of India, Smti Draupadi Murmu had inaugurated the 4 days long National festival in New Delhi on 10th April. The programme was conducted by the National Innovation Foundation, an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology.
With the aim to support the grassroots technological innovations and to promote traditional knowledge, the National Innovation Foundation conducts various activities and competitions across the country periodically, to recognize the talented innovators and their models. The innovative work of Sayen, currently a student of Govt. Polytechnic at DBRAIT got recognized when he was a student of Neil Island’s Government School two years ago. His model “LPG cylinder cap opener” was declared the best at the state level competition held at Port Blair. This month he was invited by the NIF to participate at the National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Festival, where his work has been adjudged the second best at National Level. The Union Minster for state Shri Jitendra Singh felicitated him with the trophy and prize.
Sayen’s School’s proud guide science teacher of the model, Shri Vimal Madhu, while talking with media said Sayen’s poor economical background could not stop him exploring his dream of making this special tool for the common man’s utility. “The passionate interest of the boy motivated me to be the guide to him”, he said. Shri Vimal informed that Sayen had got the second place at the state level competition conducted by ‘INSPIRE’ at Port Blair in 2019. Later he had participated at the National Level programme held at ITT Delhi and bagged the prestigious award of being placed second at National Level. The then Deputy Education officer-science Shri Sharat Chandran and the then Principal of his school at Neil Island, Smti Deepa Nair were the source of inspiration, who had always been encouraging Sayen to go ahead with self-confidence. But the news could not get the appropriate place in media due to the Corona Pandemic which followed immediately after that event. “However having been recognized at National level this time again, ecstatic Sayen is full of confidence and we would get to see something new from him soon”, the hopeful guide teacher Shri Vimal said.