The Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur — a non-profit students' organisation established with the aim of fostering the spirit of entrepreneurship among the college students in India — is set to organise Entrepreneurship Awareness Drive 2014 in Dehradun on October 8.
It would be held at the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies. The cell, one of the most successful entrepreneurial organisations in the country with over 50 start-ups incubated in eight years since its inception, conducts guest lectures, workshops and business plan competitions aside from providing mentorship and incubation support to aspiring student entrepreneurs. The Entrepreneurship Awareness Drive (EAD) is one of the major flagship events, the other being the Global Entrepreneurship Summit held in January, the spokesperson of the cell said. The EAD consists of a series of Guest lectures and Workshops in 20 cities in 20 days in October. Each city plays host to an Entrepreneurship Awareness Camp (EAC), where eminent entrepreneurs and industry leaders counsel the students about the pros and cons of entrepreneurship as a career and how it differs from the usual run-of-the-mill job culture that has existed till now.
Each EAC also features a Networking Session, where start-ups, students and the guests can freely interact as well as a Start-up Pitching Session, where the start-ups attending a session get a one-on-one interaction with the guest lecturers. Entrepreneurship Awareness Drive 2014, Dehradun, would be attended by seasoned entrepreneurs like Tarun Uppal, founder of E Online Tutors Inc and Sushovon Saha, CEO of Innovation Circle who would enlighten the attendees with insights into starting a successful enterprise.
Anyone can attend the event after registering at www.ead.ecell-iitkgp.org, the organisers said. EAD has come a long way since its inception and has seen the number of cities grow from 10 to 20 with a footfall of 16000 in 2012 and20000 students in 2013. Some of the distinguished guests who have adorned the dais of EAD include Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Founder of Biocon, Phanindra Sama, CEO of Redbus.in, Arjun Malhotra, co-founder of HCl Technologies, Irrfan Alam, Founder, Sammaan Foundation and the contemporary face of Social Entrepreneurship in India and Shaheen Mistry, Founder, Teach for India Foundation. As this drive continues to reach more students and entrepreneurs, the organisers said they move one step closer to achieving Vision 2020, as outlined by former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam.
Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kharagpur, would present the new prestigious Empresario 2015 in association with International Business Model Competition (IBMC). The best entries in all categories will get an opportunity to participate directly in the semi-final rounds of IBMC 2015, which will be conducted abroad.