CONCLAVE ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP ORGANIZED BY AICTE

Ms. Pratibha Sharma, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Dronacharya College of Engineering, Gurgaon attended a one-day Conclave on Entrepreneurship Education organized by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) on 19th September 2014 at Hotel Ashok, Chankyapuri, New Delhi from 9.00 AM to 5.30 PM.  The Conclave was inaugurated by Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India. The Conclave focused on the relevance and importance of Entrepreneurship, Start ups and incubation centers in Academic Institutions.

During the Inaugural Speech, Smt. Smriti Irani said that Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are ranked fourth on a list of 50 best entrepreneurial undergraduate institutes in the world. Sharing the achievement at an AICTE conclave on 'entrepreneurship education', she said the feat calls for further celebrations as the IITs have been ranked higher than some of the best Ivy League universities such as Harvard. The minister referred to the rankings while underscoring the need to inculcate an entrepreneurial mindset among the youths, noting that knowledge and entrepreneurship are keys to take the country ahead. Noting that innovation has become increasingly open and collaborative today as opposed to the existing close in-house innovation models, the minister suggested development of innovation clusters to promote collaboration between research organizations, industry and university. She also said her ministry would soon operationalize a 'council for higher education and industry' so that "together we can bring about solution that our nation has so long sought".

The conclave was addressed by senior government functionaries and successful Entrepreneurs in various sectors from across the Country. Sh. Ashok Thakur, Secretary (Higher Education), MHRD, Govt. of India, presided over function. Prof S.S. Mantha, Chairman, AICTE & Prof. Avinash S. Pant, Vice-Chairman, AICTE, Shri. R.P. Sisodiya, Joint Secretary, MHRD and other Senior Officials of MHRD & AICTE also participated. The Conclave was attended by Vice Chancellors, Directors/Commissioners of Technical Education Department of States/UTs, Director/Principal/Deans/ Senior faculty members of Institutes and other senior functionaries. The inaugural program was followed by Technical Sessions and panel discussions.

The 1st Session discussed on Govt. Policies, Programs and Opportunities in Different Sectors. The various speakers during the session were Padma Shri Pritam Singh, Director General, IMI, New Delhi, Mr. Subhash Ghai, Chairman, Whistling Woods International, Mr. Thomas, MD, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited, Mr. Anil Kumar Pipal, Addl. Director, Department of Electronics and Information Technology.

The 2nd Session was related to discussion on Entrepreneurship Education, Training and Innovation. The various panelists involved in the discussion were Mr. Ajai Chowdhry, Founder HCL and Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Patna, Mr. Manish Sabharwal, CEO Teamlease, Mr. Yogesh Kochar, Sectoral Expert and Mr. Dilip Cherian, Founder and Consulting Partner, Perfect Relations. The session was followed by panel discussion and Questionnaire round which was very motivational.

The 3rd Session discussed Entrepreneurship Opportunities in various Sectors by panelists Mr. Prakash Rane, MD – ABM Knowledgeware Ltd. Mumbai, Mr. Anurag Batra – Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Exchange4media, Mr. Ashok Kumar – Chief Strategic Officer, Airports GMR and Mr. Suparna Pandey – Cofounder ScoopWhoop Media Pvt. Ltd. The 4th Session was based on discussion Entrepreneurship Opportunities in IT and Electronic Sectors. It was delivered by Mr. Vijay Thadani – CEO NIIT, Mr. S N Rai, Co-Founder & Director, Lava International Ltd., Mr. Saket Modi, CEO Lucidius India and Mr. Amarjit Batra – CEO - OLX India & Head – Asia.

The event ended with inspirational words by Prof. A S Pant – Vice Chairman AICTE on “The relevance & important of “Entrepreneurship” in creating a change in Society”, Concluding Remarks delivered by  Mr. N K Goel – President CMAI, New Delhi and finally Vote of Thanks by Dr. D S Rathore – Director AICTE. The event was huge success with participation of more than 600 delegated across all over INDIA.

Some Glimpses: