AICTE launches IDE Bootcamp to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in PM SHRI schools

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) inaugurated the Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship (IDE) Bootcamp for principals and teachers of PM SHRI Schools today through an online session. The three-phase bootcamp aims to integrate design thinking, innovation pedagogy, and entrepreneurship into school education.

The initiative aims to equip school principals and teachers with tools and frameworks to implement innovation, design thinking and entrepreneurship at the school level.

Phase 1 of the programme is being conducted at 14 locations across 12 States from December 17 to 19, 2025. Phase 2 of the bootcamp will be conducted from December 22 to 24 across 21 locations, and Phase 3 from January 7 to 9, 2026, at 15 locations.

The programme follows capacity-building workshops for District Education Officers and DIET members conducted from October 30 to December 5, 2025, across 25 locations covering 26 States and Union Territories. Under the AICTE –Innovation Cell, 46 bootcamps for higher education institutions and 48 for schools have been organised to date, in line with the National Education Policy 2020.

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Training over 9,000 principals and teachers nationwide

According to the official press release, over 200 experts will train more than 9,000 participants across 50 centres. The programme is jointly organised by the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), AICTE, Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell (MIC), and NCERT , in collaboration with the Wadhwani Foundation.

AICTE chairman TG Sitharam said the bootcamp is intended to move school education beyond rote learning and to institutionalise innovation practices. “By integrating design thinking, innovation pedagogy and entrepreneurship at the school level, he said, the programme will help institutionalise innovation practices in schools and nurture a confident, future-ready generation of problem-solvers,” Sitharam said.

Additional secretary and director, DoSEL, Dheeraj Sahu, highlighted the role of principals and teachers in guiding school-level innovation. “The IDE Bootcamp aims to equip principals and teachers with the right knowledge, frameworks and tools to effectively guide innovation under the PM SHRI Schools initiative ,” he said.

AICTE vice chairman Abhay Jere noted that structured programmes such as teacher training, school innovation councils and buildathons aim to create on-ground mentors who can support students from school to higher education and the startup ecosystem.