The Final Stretch
I’m going to miss this more than I thought I would.
Just before week 7 started, we were all whisked away in a bus to a 5-star hotel in the center of the city. Where we were treated to a lavish dinner and met all the people who had been involved in guest evaluations so far.
We were encouraged to talk and network with them. In the context of our project or otherwise.
One thing which gave me some much-needed motivation to push through in the final week was a line said by one of the sponsors of the program. A plastics giant from the US.
He said—
“ These are kids! 18 and 19 yr olds who’re thinking and making innovative things and solving such amazing social problems!”
When you hear a millionaire talk about you in this way, it really makes you believe in yourself. It reminds you that regardless of what the outcome of the program was. The memories and experience which each and every one of us would take away is unparalleled.
Some of the students were asked to talk about their experience so far and before we got into actually having dinner, we toasted to the 4 sponsors of the program without whom we couldn’t possibly buy our parts and complete what we aimed for in 6 weeks.
Week 7 began, we had no guest evaluations. We were working on drafting our patent throughout and ended the week with the final evaluation. If each guest evaluation was a level, the final evaluation was the big bad boss.
We had a huge room set up and each of the guests on the panel got a major upgrade. Almost all of them were a giant in their respective markets or really well-renowned people. We’re talking VP and CEO level renowned.
The guests of the previous evaluations were also invited to see our final presentation from the last time they had evaluated us. Almost all of them showed up.
We were then judged and then the top two inventions were awarded their respective cash prizes.
Although I didn’t end up winning, according to the professor we came 3rd by like 1 point. I was so proud of each and every one of us who had really transformed themselves in these 6 weeks.
We all came away from the experience with a huge boost in our presentation abilities, a deep understanding of patent law and with 10 inventions- each of which was just as good as the other and had a potential to actually solve a problem that people face.
You can have a look at each of our inventions, as well as the inventions from the previous edition of the program on their website.
All the projects are showcased at http://inventionfactory.org
After this whirlwind of 7 weeks were over… I found myself feeling a little sad about the tiny things, like —
Talking with Alan or Eric over lunch (every day we would lunch in a different room and as a rule, everyone was to be present).
Alan is very talkative and it was so much fun to know about the way of life there in New York. The differences and similarities in students at Cooper Union and IITs. The courses they teach. Small tidbits of info on patent law or funny incidents in Eric’s lab and so on…
Alan and Eric are magicians. When they look you in the eye and tell you, “Don’t worry about it, you’ll find a solution to this.” You find yourself motivated to get it done with no matter what. That’s how powerful mentorship is.
They were never really directly involved in any of the production or planning, and yet I’m sure all of the 20 people in the program would wholeheartedly agree that this wouldn’t have been possible without their guidance.
A thing which was said to us in one of our guest evaluations really stuck with me -
“As a mentor or skilled people with experience, we don’t actually come up with the solutions. We just ask questions to help you think about answering them”
I leave you with this, as I conclude this wild ride of 7 weeks. Invention factory has come back for a second edition. Same place- IIT Gandhinagar. I’d really encourage you to apply if you feel like any of what I mentioned is something you feel you would like to do/learn.
Don’t let the fact that you don’t have skills in a particular field hold you back. If you’re someone passionate about making, this is for you!
The link to apply is here and you I would also recommend having a look at their website in case of any FAQs
Do feel free to get in touch if you have any other questions or just to say hi!
