Entrepreneurship in focus at private universities beyond tier-I cities

According to Pradeep Racherla, professor of marketing and head of the department (digital technologies) at Mahindra University’s School of Management, colleges in tier-I cities often house a vibrant and dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem and have access to industry. (Illustration by Suneesh Kalarickal)

Private universities in smaller cities and towns are paying more attention to entrepreneurship. In what can be seen as growing competition from institutes in such cities, experts said these universities leave no stone unturned to make sure every student gets some entrepreneurial experience amid bleak placement records on campuses.

Ten years ago, a survey by PurpleLeap found that only one out of 10 students graduating from small-town engineering colleges was readily employable. Professors said the situation hasn't changed much, although colleges are trying to chart out new courses other than salaried jobs.

What is unique to universities in such cities is that entrepreneurship projects are geared towards addressing the problems of the common people sustainably. Besides, colleges are ensuring that every candidate gets exposure to such facilities by allowing alumni to continue working on projects and enabling credits for the current system.

Credit system

Triggered by a flood in Visakhapatnam, Anik Panja worked to solve the problem of water shortage and built a plug-and-play recycling system that can be retrofitted onto kitchen pipes. Though he graduated last year, Panja’s ‘Hydro Gravitricity’ project is being incubated at the venture development centre (VDC) of Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management, a deemed university.

At GITAM, students are introduced to the nuances of innovation and entrepreneurship in the first year through a mandatory two-credit course. They are coached by in-house and industry mentors across its three campuses in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Visakhapatnam.

“In less than three years, VDC has impacted over 18,000 students and mentored more than 200 venture teams,” Sreedevi Devireddy, director of VDC at GITAM.

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KL University, a deemed university with campuses in Hyderabad and Vijayawada, has a three-stage process to help students become entrepreneurs. Stage 1 offers a course on design thinking and innovation at the freshman engineering level where students identify problems in society or industry and develop prototype solutions that are filtered for the pre-incubation stage.

In stage 2, the selected students choose an experiential learning project component every semester and work on transforming their ideas from ideation to proof of concept.

In the final stage, students have a full semester dedicated to entrepreneurship, where they can register their start-ups. Additionally, during their final year, the project should be able to generate minimum revenue.

K Narasimha Raju, Head of the Department of Design Thinking and Innovation at KL University, said 15 start-ups set up by the students have reached revenue stage and many have attracted funding from angel investors and venture capital firms. The amount raised so far is over Rs 25 crore.

Working with the government

The central and the respective state governments have continuously emphasised building an entrepreneurship culture among youngsters and have come up with initiatives to collaborate with educational institutes.

At BML Munjal University, located about 40 km from Gurugram, the incubation system consists of the Atal Community Innovation Centre or ACIC-BMU, which has been set up with the support of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) at NITI Aayog, the government’s think-tank.

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Young start-up founders at the centre get special training, connect with experts and get access to funds and the market, said Davinder Singh, CEO of ACIC-BMU Foundation. There is also a cell that helps start-ups to protect their intellectual property, he said.

Vindhya Mehrotra, an MBA student of the 2021-23 batch, co-founded a local mobility start-up called Fery Rides, aimed at offering safe travel for women.

“I am deeply committed to utilising my MBA education to drive Fery’s growth, ensure its long-term sustainability, and positively impact the lives of our users,” he said.

Integration of tech

Mahindra University’s School of Management in Hyderabad emphasises the integration of digital technologies and their application across domains. The common focus area across projects revolves around leveraging digital technologies to drive innovation, enhance business processes, and create value for organisations and society.

A product of its centre, robotics solution firm Favio Robotics, has received official sanction from the ministry of housing and urban affairs for technical handholding from IIT Kharagpur and a grant of Rs 5.3 crore. Other firms include AI start-up Spoofsense, Madi Tech Solutions, and Coolcarbon Technologies.

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According to Pradeep Racherla, professor of marketing and head of the department (digital technologies) at Mahindra University’s School of Management, colleges in tier-I cities often house a vibrant and dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem and have access to industry.

“Besides, tier-1 cities are often home to a wide range of funding sources, including VC firms, angel investors, and government initiatives. The density of these funding options can provide aspiring entrepreneurs with a higher probability of securing financial support for their start-up ideas,” he said.

Not just tech

Sharda Launchpad, a centre for entrepreneurship development set up by Sharda University in Greater Noida, had incubated 42 start-ups as of July 2022, ranging from technology and healthcare to e-commerce and sustainability.

One is Manvi Arts & Entertainment, an event management start-up founded by Manvi Sharma of last year’s batch. With access to industry mentors, workshops, and conferences, Sharma said she gained practical knowledge and launched her first corporate training start-up while still an MBA student.

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“The success rate of Sharda Launchpad is a testament to its effectiveness, with an impressive 85 percent of its incubated start-ups continuing operations for over a year,” said Parul Saxena, associate professor at Sharda School of Business Studies.