Innovation in the minds of Young India

Organizational Behavior

[School of Petroleum Management]

Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University Gandhinagar

Research project on Innovation in the

minds of Young India

Submitted To – Dr. Satish Pandey

Submitted By –
Abhik Tushar Das (Roll No -20104001)
Ajay Cecil (Roll No -20104002)
Anand Kumar Singh (Roll No -20104003)
Date – 21-Mar-11

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 Innovation in the minds of Young India
Introduction
The project would aim at identifying the factors influencing the students at PDPU
about Innovation, as a concept and its role in society. A questionnaire based
survey is conducted to identify the factors affecting the course objectives.

Research Problem
The innovation index of India is only 56 among 130 countries on the Innovation
index and has dropped down the list compared to the previous list. This can be
attributed to the perception of people towards Innovation and also the design of
the pedagogy in Universities. The project aims at surveying a group of young
students at the Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) and develops a
meaningful conclusion towards identifying the problem.

Objective
The research objective is to seeks to explore answers to the following questions:
 What according to you best defines Innovation?
 Which of the below do you think are important attributes for becoming an
Innovator?
 Do you believe that the PDPU campus has fostered an environment for
Innovation?
 Where do you think India stands in terms of world ranking on Innovation?
 Do you believe that Innovation comes only from your DNA and cannot be
nurtured?
 Do you feel that your academic course has encouraged Innovative thinking
within yourself?
 What according to you hinders India from becoming the top country in the
world for Innovation?
 Who do you feel has the most important role in creating Innovative
thinking?
 According to you what could become factors for furthering Innovation in
India?
 Do you think that you could benefit as students if a technology forum on
Innovation was established on campus?

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 Innovation in the minds of Young India
Research Approach
The approach for the research project would involve the following:
1. Collection of relevant information and literature reviews to understand the
concept of innovation.
2. Analyzing the existing psychology of students about innovation.
3. Conducting a questionnaire based sample survey for obtaining individual
responses.
4. Applying business statistics tools (mean, median, and mode) further present the
data in numerical form (as per table below).

Thus, the research project would involve four stages.

a) Questionnaire formation
b) Data collection
c) Data analysis
d) Conclusions

Data Source

 The primary data (samples) would be obtained through questionnaire based

survey.
 Other reports/ studies would be obtained from various published sources and
on-line journals (based on their availability in the public domain).

Data Analysis

Based on the existing studies, the following sets of factors identify the
perceptiveness regarding the innovative thought processes in the minds of
students:

a) Academic curriculum
It measures innovation as a function of the course pedagogy in the
university and its ability to foster the minds of young students to adopt an
out-of-the-box thinking ability.

b) Personality traits

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 Innovation in the minds of Young India
It measures the inherent qualities in an individual and its effects on
innovative thinking.

c) Global perspective
This measures the effect of globalization on the ability of an individual to
think innovatively, and its role in promotion of innovation as a unique
concept.

To assess the significance of these factors in determining the perceptiveness of

students regarding innovation, a questionnaire based survey was conducted. The
questionnaire is given in Annexure.

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 Innovation in the minds of Young India

Discussion
1. What according to you best defines Innovation?
Q1 definition Answer
a 28
b 2
c 14
d 4
e 0

Inference: According to survey 58 % of the respondents define innovation as an “application of

a fresh idea”

2. Which of the below do you think are important attributes for becoming an Innovator?
Q2 rank1 rank2 rank3 rank4 rank5
a 4 14 12 8 10
b 16 10 10 12 0
c 10 8 12 14 4
d 0 4 4 6 34
e 18 10 10 8 0

Inference: According to survey 37.5 % of the respondents rates creative mind as the most
important attribute for becoming an innovator.

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 Innovation in the minds of Young India
3. Do you believe that the PDPU campus has fostered an environment for Innovation?
Q3 PDPU Answer
a 2
b 14
c 10
d 12
e 10

Inference: According to survey 29% of the respondents believe that pdpu campus has fostered
an environment for innovation.

4. Where do you think India stands in terms of world ranking on Innovation?

Q4 India rank Answer

a 8
b 4
c 12
d 16
e 8

Inference: According to survey 1/3 of the respondents believe that India ranks between 35 to 50
in the world ranking of innovation. According to 2010 survey by World Bank and the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development , India holds 56 position.

5. Do you believe that Innovation comes only from your DNA and cannot be nurtured?
Q5 DNA Answer
a 2
b 6
c 0
d 22
e 18

Inference: According to survey 45.8 %respondents disagree that innovation comes by birth and
can not be nurtured.

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 Innovation in the minds of Young India
6. Do you feel that your academic course has encouraged Innovative thinking within yourself?
Q6 course Answer
a 2
b 18
c 8
d 14
e 6

Inference: According to survey37.5% of the respondents agreed that academic courses

encourage innovative thinking in oneself.

7. What according to you hinders India from becoming the top country in the world for
Innovation?
Q7 rank 1 rank 2 rank 3 rank 4 rank 5
a 2 16 6 16 6
b 12 4 10 12 8
c 14 8 8 2 14
d 18 4 12 2 10
e 0 14 10 12 10

Inference: According to survey 37.5 % of the respondents believe lack of coordination in

government departments prevents India to becoming the top country n the world for
innovation.

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 Innovation in the minds of Young India
8. Who do you feel has the most important role in creating Innovative thinking?
Q8 rank 1 rank 2 rank 3 rank 4 rank 5
a 40 4 0 0 4
b 2 24 10 8 4
c 2 16 10 16 2
d 0 0 12 10 26
e 4 4 14 14 12

Inference: According to survey83.3% of the respondents believe that the individual has most
important role in creating innovative thinking.

9. According to you what could become factors for furthering Innovation in India?
Q9 rank 1 rank 2 rank 3 rank 4 rank 5
a 14 18 6 0 12
b 2 14 12 14 6
c 30 4 4 8 2
d 2 6 10 12 18
e 0 6 18 14 10
Inference: According to survey 62.5 % of the respondents feels developing ones skill set is the
most important factor for the innovation.

10. Do you think that you could benefit as students if a technology forum on Innovation was
established on campus?
Q10 Answer
a 18
b 32
c 0
d 0
e 0
Inference: According to survey 66.6 % of the respondents agrees to the fact that one could
benefit as students if a technology form on innovation was established in campus.

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Innovation in the minds of Young India

14
12
10
8
Male
6 Female
4
2
0
SPM SPT SOT SLS

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 Innovation in the minds of Young India

S Innovation drivers Weightage

No.
1 Academic curriculum 33.33%

2 Personality traits 33.33%

3 Global perspective 33.33%

Findings
S Innovation Drivers Results
No. (% of
respondents)
1 Academic curriculum 31.46

2 Personality traits 42.68

3 Global perspective 25.86

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 Innovation in the minds of Young India
Implication

Conclusion
The ability to innovate is a vital core competency that you should possess as a
manager for successful businesses. The process of innovative thinking should
however begin early in the life of the individual. At the university level the student
can be empowered in his thoughts from his interaction with intellectual minds,
faculty can play an important role in nurturing and stimulating innovation,
academics will govern the right path for the individual and provide a forum for
interaction on innovative ideas. This will set the stage for an environment where
the learning will shift to innovative thinking. Innovation is the application of a
new idea, a process or a different way of doing things and innovative thinking is
the beginning of this process. Our study reflects that Personality traits are the most
important factor responsible for being an innovator. However, contrary to this
popular belief, it is well established by studies that academics also plays a major
role in developing innovators. It is not just a single factor but a combination of
both that leads to successful innovative thinking in the individual or student. We
have lot to learn from other countries such as Iceland, Sweden and Hongkong at
the top of the innovation index. Finally, we can rightly claim that the pillars of
innovation are built at the university level.

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 Innovation in the minds of Young India

Reflection
1. Maital & Seshadri, S.M. & D.V.R (2007), Innovation Management, London: Sage, p
117-140.
2. Barton Rabe, C.B.R (2006), The Innovation Killer, Broadway, New York: Amacom,
P 9-20
3. Subbarao, E.C (2008), An Eye for Excellence, New Delhi: Harper Collins, p 22-35
4. http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/centres/elab/documents/GIIFinal0809.pdf
5. http://www.livemint.com/2010/03/03213600/Iceland-tops-innovation-index.html
6. http://www.tenfacesofinnovation.com/thebook/index.htm
7. The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from Ideo, America's Leading Design Firm
by Tom Kelley
8. http://www.amazon.com/Innovation-Entrepreneurship-Peter-F-
Drucker/dp/0887306187/ref=cm_lmf_img_2#reader_0887306187
9. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/223546-
1181699473021/3876782-1191373775504/indiainnovationfull.pdf

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Innovation in the minds of Young India
ANNEXURE

1. What according to you best defines Innovation? (choose any one)

a) Application of a fresh idea
b) An invention
c) Doing things differently
d) New technology
e) Don’t know

2. Which of the below do you think are important attributes for becoming an Innovator?
(Rank 1-5, 1 has highest rank)
a) Motivation __
b) Visionary __
c) Independent – minded __
d) Defy the crowd __
e) Creative – minded __

3. Do you believe that the PDPU campus has fostered an environment for Innovation?
a) Strongly agree
b) Agree
c) Undecided
d) Disagree
e) Strongly disagree

4. Where do you think India stands in terms of world ranking on Innovation?

a) Top 15
b) 15 – 20
c) 20 – 35
d) 35 – 50
e) 50 – 60

5. Do you believe that Innovation comes only from your DNA and cannot be nurtured?
a) Strongly agree
b) Agree
c) Undecided
d) Disagree
e) Strongly disagree

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Innovation in the minds of Young India
6. Do you feel that your academic course has encouraged Innovative thinking within
yourself?
a) Strongly agree
b) Agree
c) Undecided
d) Disagree
e) Strongly disagree

7. What according to you hinders India from becoming the top country in the world for
Innovation? (Rank 1-5, 1 has highest rank)
a) Bureaucracy __
b) Lack of coordination in govt. Departments __
c) Poor quality in post graduate studies __
d) Lack of vision __
e) Poor funding __

8. Who do you feel has the most important role in creating Innovative thinking?
(Rank 1-5, 1 has highest rank)
a) Individual (you) __
b) Classmates __
c) Faculty __
d) PDPU __
e) Clubs __

9. According to you what could become factors for furthering Innovation in India?
(Rank 1-5, 1 has highest rank)
a) R&D initiatives __
b) Foreign collaboration __
c) Developing one’s skill set __
d) Venture capitalists __
e) Technology Park & Incubators by govt. __

10. Do you think that you could benefit as students if a technology forum on Innovation was
established on campus?
a) Strongly agree
b) Agree
c) Undecided
d) Disagree
e) Strongly disagree

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