Media Release

Udupi, Feb 24: The Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering at Shri Madhwa Vadiraja Institute of Technology and Management (SMVITM), in association with the ISTE Student Chapter and Cocurricular Cell, organised an invited talk titled ‘Innovate to Initiate: A Session on Idea Generation & Problem Identification” on Feb 20 at the institute premises.

The session was delivered by Dr Aldrin Claytus Vaz, assistant professor – grade II, St Joseph Engineering College, and focused on guiding students to identify real-world problems, convert them into project statements, and map them to relevant ECE domains such as IoT, Embedded Systems, Signal Processing.

Dr Vaz encouraged students to shift from marks- driven or copied projects to problem-oriented thinking with real-world impact, introducing frameworks for good project problems and the problem statement formula. He illustrated the difference between vague, impractical ideas and focused, feasible problems, while also highlighting the importance of aligning projects with Sustainable Development Goals and thinking towards patent-worthy innovation.

The programme was presided over by Arun Upadhyaya, head of the ECE Department, and was compered by Shravya Thantry, a third-year student of the ECE department. Dr Vaz concluded with the message, “Observe problems before choosing solutions. Think small, think real, think engineering. A clear problem statement today saves months of confusion tomorrow.”

The event was coordinated by Chandana, ISTE department coordinator, and Sandeepa Prabhu, department cocurricular cell, and witnessed enthusiastic participation from students who engaged in discussions, leaving with actionable insights and project ideas that combine innovation with societal relevance.