The game changer ‘Maker Faire’ comes to Hyderabad

Hyderabad, November 2, 2018: Hyderabad, the City of Biryani and Sherwani, Nawabs and Kebabs, Pearls and Paigahs, Haleem and Arches, Minarets and Modern Buildings, Bangles, Badminton and Bahubali,will be the proud host of India’s largest and the most happening event, "Maker Faire". Addressing a press conference here in Hotel Plaza in the city on Friday, Mr. Sujai Karampuri, CEO of T-Works, an initiative of the Government of Telangana and hosts of Hyderabad’s first Maker Faire said, the faire will be held for three days from November 9 to 11 at Hitex Exhibition Centre. The three-day event is an attempt to make “Hyderabad the hub for maker movement” as well, stated Sujai. “No one is born with a maker hat. It is the environment that nurtures the maker spirit. This is not just another event showcasing what other people have created, but is planned toinspire attendees to get into the maker spirit”, announced JayeshRanajan, Principal secretary, ITE&C and Industries Department, Govt of Telangana. “It is also intended to inspire kids, who are our future” he added. “Maker Faire works towards becoming one of the key contributors to Hyderabad’s Design, Product and MICE industry”, the speakers added. The Hyderabad Edition of Maker Faire is the largest in India. Though couple of smaller versions held before, this is the first time the large version of Maker Faire is happening in India at Hyderabad. What is also more interesting is the man behind the Maker Faire Dale Dougherty, not only himself will be there, but will also deliver key note address added Jayesh. In the past one decade if you observe many internet and technology based innovations such as Flipkart, Ola, Oyo, SnapDeals happened. Now it is the time to turn tables and focus on Hardware. T Works is the Prototyping Lab for product development. It is coming up at 5 acres land, Jayesh informed. T-Works signed MoU with GE FirstBuild who will commence their operations in December. T-Works will commence full-fledged operations from April 2019. In first phase it will have 78,000 sft and in second phase it will have 2,50,000. The second phase will see light in next two years. Rs 60 crore is invested in T-Works, Rs 40 crore is invested towards building and Rs 20crore towards equipment and infrastructure development. Sujai said that their vision is to see Maker Faire a community driven event in next four to five years. We would like to see Hyderabad grow as hub for 4th Industrial revolution, he informed. Spread over 50,000 sqft area, it will feature over 200 makers, artists, and entrepreneurs from across the country. Over 100makers, maker spaces, artists, artisans, incubators, accelerators, ecosystem partners and innovators are coming together to organize the Hyderabad edition. It is an event to be hosted by the community for the community, Sujai stated. Known as a dream destination for makers, the maiden faire is expected to attract 20,000 visitors, including maker community, in all the three days put together. The maker community from nearby towns Bengaluru, Mumbai and other places are also expected, Sujai added.Through NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission,student makers from as far as Nashik, Ghaziabad, and other regions of the country will also be participating at the event, making it a truly national Maker Faire. The notable and distinguished guests who will grace include Dale Dougherty, the founder & CEO of MAKE Magazine who conceived Maker Faire, 12 years ago in the USA. What he envisioned in 2006 has become a movement all over the world today. Last year, 191 Maker Faires held in 38 countries attracting 1.4 million people. Because of this remarkable feat, the Maker Faire is often described as the Greatest Show and Tell on Earth. Maker Faire, a gathering of makers and educators is held each year in cities around the globe. Participants can hear Dale Dougherty spea about the concept, journey, and goals of the faire. For budding makers, it will be a lifetime experience to meet the visionary, who made Maker Faire, now a buzzword in the corporate world across the globe. Innovators and other eminent speakers who will share their knowledge, wisdom, experience include: RamanathanRamanan, Mission Director of theAtal Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog, a Government of India's endeavour to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship; JayeshRanjan, Principal Secretary, ITE&C and Industries Department, Govt of Telangana, who is also an all India IAS Topper in 1992; SujaiKarampuri, CEO T-Works, a multi-faceted personality and ChintakindiMallesham our own innovator who weaved into fame with his Asu Machine to make life easier for his mother and won a Padma Shri in the process. Elaborating further, SujaiKarampuri observed that Maker Faire would is a celebration of invention, creativity, and curiosity showcasing the best of local ‘Maker Movement.’ From engineers to artists to scientists to crafters, Maker Faire is a venue for these “makers” to show hobbies, experiments, projects. It will be the gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. It is an endeavour to build a local community of Makers. The debut Maker Faire Hyderabad will have three different tracks- Play, Passion and Purpose. Each track represents a stage in the evolution of a maker- creative children to curious makers to innovative entrepreneurs.”, explained Sujai. It is an endeavour to create a culture of makers, innovators and hobbyists to strengthen the thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem Sujai added. The output of this culture ranges from makers to hardware entrepreneurs to a skilled talent pool, all of which align with the country’s ‘Make in India’ vision. While many accelerators for IT-focused entrepreneurs can be found across the country, open prototyping centers are lacking. The first phase of the T-Works project is under construction and will see 78,000 square feet of space outfitted with sophisticated equipment and supplies for creating prototypes. T-Works leveraged the experience of Workbench Projects, a hyperspace in Bengaluru, to host the event in Hyderabad. “Workbench Projects conducted the first set of Maker Faires in India before coming to Hyderabad as the ecosystem here attracted the right synergies to democratically bring to the forefront all makers as heroes.” Said Pavan Kumar, Founder and CEO of Workbench Projects. We have designed an experience, that'll amaze and astonish all visitors, especially kids and parents, says the team curating the Play Track. It showcases many installations and innovation, that'll inspire and spark creativity in a child. "To make children unleash their true potential, we've created the Aliver's Metropolis" adds Krishna Teja, CEO of Better By Design, the organization curating the tack. The Aliver's Metropolis is a mock-up city that combines fun, creativity and innovation, to give children an opportunity like never before. This city fuels a child's natural curiosity, sense of wonder for the world and their immense creative energy. This city will unleash a child's mind, through idea exploration, hands-on prototyping, and creativity at the Maker Faire, says the Play Track team. The Aliver's Metropolis isn't just a space for kids. Parents too can join their kids, in a fun exploration with their minds and their hands. Together, they can have a lot of fun, in a city like no other. Key highlights of the experience include interesting workshops like Let's Khelo- an electronic kit workshop, Egg Drop Challenge; Interactive Installations and Showcase of Kid Innovations by kids themselves! If there is a child of the curious type, a budding scientist at home who has ideas that seem out of this world, Maker Faire will be the place to be, he says. Kids too can be makers, innovators. We need to kindle that thought in them. We have made an all-out efforts keeping this in mind says Teja of the Play Track. According to Ravi Devulapally of SRiX, who is curating Purpose Track (Start-ups) Start-ups like PurEnergy, YZThings, Firefly Automation, Dhama, Hug Innovations, Nanospan, Centaur, Intech, Pure Energy, Flowrhex, Fogr, Gamitronics, Global 3D Labs, Social Impact agents like PalleSrujana, Bamboo House and many more are eagerly awaiting to inspire visitors with the awesome products they built. These innovative startups worked on technologies as varied as IoT, Drones, Agricultural equipment, AR/VR, Sustainability, environment-friendly products and more! Purpose track also lined up mentors, incubators, investors and successful entrepreneurs to share their inspiring insights through panel discussions and give visitors a peek into the future. Vineel of Passion Track adds the core of the Maker Movement is the passion for Making and Building things. Some of the most Inspiring Artists and Artisans, Makers and Makerspaces across India are going to be at Maker Faire Hyderabad to showcase their projects. SurabhiTheater, Makers Asylum, Workbench Projects, Collab House, MakersHive, PreLab, Kalaachakra, Banaao, Technolexis, Kilkaari The Art&Co., Into Fablab, TinkerHub, Foxlab, RiidlFablab, Fablab Nagpur and Curosity Innovation Labs and more. The passion track has curated some of the most exciting workshops which include Pottery, Sculpting, Bread making, 3D Printing Farm, Carpentry, Paper Circuits, Bio-chem, Kalamkaari, Leather art by the TholuBommalata artisans, Frame weaving workshop, Soldering, Lamp Making and many more! The highlight of this track is life-sized installations that include: SurabhiTheater, Metal Unicorn, Metal Steam Punk Biryani, Digital Fabricated Furniture, Handloom Weaving, Kinematic Puppet, Augumented Gallery Show, Virtual Cycling, Nail and Thread Art, Graffiti and Skate Boarding To encourage Regional Art and Artisans and to support and showcase the regional art artisans of Bidari, Lakh Churri, Cheriyal, Kalamkaari, Dokra, TholuBommalu (Leather Puppetry), Kondapalli art forms are invited The track also lined up performances such as Tangy Sessions, SiddharthBendi and b-boying A roundtable around the need and possible charter of a federation of Makerspaces in India will be held. Atal Innovation Mission and NITI Ayog shall be part of the discussion. It is a “create or perish world”. There are many opportunities. Telangana state has the expertise and capacity to exploit. Hyderabad has a significantly strong software industry. A boost to the hardware ecosystem will strengthen its position as a hub for product startups. The city already boasts of over 1000 startups. It is a home to nearly 40 incubators and Co-Working Spaces. It is also home to India’s top educational institutions such as IIT, IIIT, BITS Pilani, ISB, NIT, and ten prestigious private and public research labs-- DRDO, DRDL, IICT, DLRL, DMRL. RCI, TASL, SITC and DBF-. Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Qualcomm, Xilinx, NVidia all have major operations located in the city. All of the above are involved in creating products at the intersection of hardware and software. The key to success for hardware startups is quick prototype development and a short time to market. With T-Works in place, what we need is an ecosystem of makers. Maker Faire contributes immensely towards that direction.