Makerfest Vadodara 2025

The seventh edition of Maker Fest Vadodara was a resounding success, featuring 70 stalls across seven different categories, carefully selected from over 500 applications, along with a few invited participants. A common sentiment echoed by visitors and mentors this year was the remarkable quality of innovations—many with strong potential for commercialization. The event truly offered a glimpse into the future of technology and creativity.

Exhibits and Innovations
After rigorous screening by domain experts, selected Maker Teams showcased groundbreaking innovations, including:
● Farming Pods
● Underwater Drones
● AI Robots
● Robotic Finger and Arm
● Fire-Fighting Vehicles
● Herbal Solutions for Insect Bites
● Electrifying Leaf Collecting Machine
● Autonomous Electric Tractors
● Unique creations from scrap and matchsticks

Invited Maker Highlight: Upside Down Labs – Neuroscience Games
One of the most exciting interactive exhibits at Maker Fest Vadodara 2025 was presented by Upside Down Labs, a startup specializing in neuroscience and bio-signal processing. Their engaging Neuroscience Games  allowed attendees to explore cutting-edge brain-computer interface technologies through hands-on activities:

1. Human-to-Human Control Interface – One person could control another person’s arm using neural signals.
2. EEG Tug of War Game – A focus-based competition where two players used their concentration levels to move an object, with the more focused player winning.
3. EMG-Controlled Games – Attendees played games on a laptop using electrical signals from their muscles.
4. And many more…

Even attendees with strong technical backgrounds were amazed at how biopotential signals from the brain, muscles, heart, or eyes could be harnessed to control LEDs, laptop keyboards, digital objects, and even another person’s arm.

Engaging Sessions and Workshops
Panel Discussions
1. “Cyber Crime ki Duniya: Bachke Rahna” – An insightful discussion on cybersecurity featuring:
○ Mr. Mahendra Motwani, Police Inspector, Cyber Crime Cell, Vadodara
○ Mr. Viral Parmar, Director, Comexpro Cyber Security Foundation
○ Mr. Mayur Bhusavalkar, Cyber Expert, Vadodara
2. “Inspiring Stories from Shark Tank” – A discussion with Shark Tank India-featured entrepreneurs:
○ Mr. Chetan Kanani, CEO, Alpino Health Foods Pvt. Ltd.
○ Mr. Anirban Palit, Co-founder & MD, Pragmatech Healthcare Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

Talk by an Innovator
Dr. Kanubhai Karkar, an innovator from Amreli with 57 innovations to his credit and former Principal of DIET Gujarat, delivered a talk on innovation and shared his remarkable journey.

Workshop
Experts from the Centre for Creative Learning, IIT Gandhinagar, conducted a two-hour workshop for 65 Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) instructors and teachers. Topics covered:
● Math Salute
● Card Sorting
● Straw Whistles
● Equilateral Triangle
● STEM Toy Demonstrations

Presentation Competition
A highlight of the fest was the Presentation Competition, where 38 teams competed to present their innovative ideas within a tight 3-minute timeframe, impressing both the audience and judges with their creativity and clarity.

Pre-Event Talk
A special pre-event talk was held at Sir Sayajirao Nagar Gruh on February 3, 2025, featuring Dr. Gnanvatsal Swami from BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. The topic of the talk was “Thinking Differently and Making a Difference.” The event attracted an audience of around 800 attendees.

Inauguration Function
The seventh edition was inaugurated by seven distinguished dignitaries:

Mr. Nilesh Shukla Founder and Director, TiE Vadodara
Prof. Dhanesh Patel I/C VC, MSU
Dr. Kanubhai Karkar Innovator from Amreli
Prof. Amit Ganatra Provost, Parul University
Mr. Mrudang Pandya Ex MD, Goldman Sachs Bangalore
Dr. Madhubhai Mehta Founder Member, iCreate
Mr. Jagdish Shukla President, VIC

Valedictory Function and Awards
The grand valedictory function featured esteemed guests:
● Dr. Ramanan Ramanathan – First Director, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog
● Mr. Ganesh Jivani – Founder & CEO, Matrix Comsec
● Mr. Urav Patel – Founder & CEO, PTSI
Dr. Ramanan Ramanathan delivered an inspiring speech for makers and innovators.