Chandigarh Region Innovation and Knowledge Cluster (CRIKC) was initiated at Panjab University in 2013, where institutions in Chandigarh region agreed for the creation of a Knowledge Cluster whose mandate is to use Science, Technology and Innovation for Socio-Economic development in the region. The regional impact can then be transformed to national and global goals to align with the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).
By creating a shared ecosystem and acting as a regional solution provider, an environment of national and global competition could be fostered amongst all stakeholders i.e. academia, industry, society, individuals and the government. Presently under the banner of CRIKC, various verticals are being run to foster and sustain close academic alliances between the diverse institutions of higher education and research to facilitate innovation and knowledge creation and achieve excellence in all academic spheres without compromising the autonomy of the participating institution. Faculty and scientists are encouraged to carry out joint and collaborative research and to run joint teaching/training programs at all levels of education & research. This encourages pooling of research facilities of the participating institutions, promoting and sustaining excellence in research and policy planning for better comprehension of GoI programmes and catering to societal needs.
CRIKC domains actively contributing to the society and scientific community are CRIKC Ignited Minds being run at various government schools. This programme infuses scientific temper at school level for children and science teachers. CRIKC Shodh Samwad being organized at various institutes is a platform for fostering collaboration amongst PhD scholars and encouraging budding research scholars at national and international level to take up the mantle and responsibilities from their mentors. Industrial collaboration and innovation is being propelled by establishing an Advance Drone Tech Centre at Panjab University campus. CHASCON which started as a regional event has now become a national conference to increase its outreach and allow interaction with eminent scientists of national and international stature.
The Institutes which are part of CRIKC include Medical Institutes like PGIMER and GMCH-32, Chandigarh; Engineering Institutes like IIT (Ropar), PEC, NITTTR, CCET at Chandigarh, C-DAC, Mohali; Higher Education Institutes like Panjab University, Chandigarh; IISER, NIPER, Chitkara, Rayat-Bhara University Mohali, Desh Bhagat University, Gobindgarh and Maharaja Agarsen University, Baddi and Research and Development Institutes like CSIR-IMTECH, DRDO-SASE, DRDO-TBRL, PSCST, IDC, CRRID, Chandigarh and DBT-CIAB, DBT-NABI, DST-INST, SCL in Mohali.