Entrepreneurship bug bites students

Academic institutes give practical business lessons to help its pupils undertake a journey into the material world.

At the end of an 18-month programme at the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), Bangalore, 25 per cent of the students opted to start their own companies. It was a first in the history of the institute, which previously recorded just a stray case or two taking the entrepreneurship road.

Meanwhile, at the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), 26 students from a batch of 125 students in the second year of engineering opted for placements with start-ups in 2006. Again a first in the history of the institute, as students in the past did not consider working with start-ups a lucrative career option.

This increased interest in entrepreneurship and start-ups is the result of the Wadhwani Foundation's National Entrepreneurship Network's initiative, undertaken in collaboration with academic institutes, to conduct entrepreneurship programmes on the campuses of institutes.

The National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) currently works with 218 institutes in 26 cities, reaching out to over 200,000 students on their campuses.

Laura Parkin, executive director and co-founder, NEN, said, "Over 80 per cent of the institutes joining the NEN do not have any form of entrepreneurial activities."

The non-profit organisation has increased its presence, from 100 institutes to 218 this year. Now, it plans to up its membership to 350 by March 2008. The organisation tracks every institute's involvement in promoting entrepreneurial skills on their campuses on joining and thereafter every six months.

"Within 18 months of joining the NEN, entrepreneurial activities increase seven folds in the institutes," said Parkin who was in Pune to launch the NEN catalyst programme for students and faculty.

The NEN catalyst programme differs from the organisation's work with institutes. "The new programme caters to the needs of the students and fills the gap between academia and the real world, whereas our work at the college-level caters to creating a comprehensive academic programme."

Under the new programme, the NEN will organise seminars, online discussion forums and other such activities with venture capitalists and successful start-ups/individuals to help future entrepreneurs build their networks and get access to the right resources.

In the coming month, the NEN is launching its website for the catalyst programme and also arranging an online discussion forum titled "Meet the Experts".

At IIT Kharagpur's Vinod Gupta School of Management (VGSOM), management students are testing the waters before taking the plunge into the world of business.

They have started making and selling T-shirts. In fact, they (even) bagged bulk orders from prestigious companies like PWC, Infosys, Cognizant Technology Solutions, ESPN-Star Sports, besides a few retail giants, long before they finished their course. Their business model: using Webvastra, an e-commerce retail store started by them under the "Entrepreneur's Park" banner.

Confirming the development, Probir Gupta, dean, VGSOM, said, "I remember a student approaching me sometime ago with the idea of designing T-shirts and selling them through the internet. They coordinated with our entrepreneurial development cell that encourages students to set up their own businesses while they are studying here."

The students now plan to sell customised track suits and jackets. According to sources, the students started the business with a capital of Rs 20,000.

"Any business started by students while they are studying is financed by themselves or by their families. VGSOM's entrepreneurial development cell only provides assistance to these students in terms of guidance and concept development. Many of our students who join the VGSOM come from business families," informed Gupta.

The VGSOM entrepreneurial development cell has 4-5 programmes running throughout the year and professors encourage students to start their own businesses instead of depending on placement agencies.

Webvastra, the e-commerce site, also sells predesigned T-shirts at Rs 250 each and several other customised products designed by the students. The site also lists a host of slogans, pictures and messages that buyers can choose from for printing on T-shirts. One can also place requests for customised messages to be printed on T-shirts.

All purchase transactions are done through ccavenues "" a payment gateway that has companies like Tata, Reliance, and Future Bazaar as its clients.

According to the students, the vendors are certified for quality by agencies such as SGS of Switzerland and Germany's TÜV Rheinland Pvt Ltd.