Presently India is aspiring to create wealth and employment through creation of an eco-system for entrepreneurship and manufacturing. Similarly making India self-reliant has been an ambitions dream. It is imperative that the premier institutions of the country share the dream and do their best in creating the bigger eco-system through institutional level conducive environments.
Students from a technology institution, take up careers typically in research, research & development, education, manufacturing, as engineering executive, general executive, software and IT professional etc. In order to fulfil the aspirations of the 1.4 billion Indians majority of whom still live in rural areas, we need to encourage our students to take up entrepreneurship in significant numbers and see that the opportunities in manufacturing, service industry and technologies for the rural sector are exploited, a healthy growth takes place and prosperity is achieved. This would also very significantly avert the current situation of inadequate employment opportunities. That is, while providing world class holistic education and inculcating research culture, providing opportunity for well-rounded personality building and growth at the institutes, we need to create opportunities for entrepreneurship and create job givers along-side job seekers.
The Vision-cum-Model to Create an Ecosystem for Entrepreneurship at IITBBS: When Prof Raja Kumar took over as director, the situation was that actions related to entrepreneurship was to be developed from scratch at IIT Bhubaneswar. However, there was some degree of awareness amongst the students with part of the motivation coming from the prevailing practice of conducting an annual event on Entrepreneurship elsewhere, with the students holding, ‘E-Summit’, annually.
Therefore, he strongly articulated the need for initiating and making rapid strides on entrepreneurship development and personally created a vision document by which a vibrant eco-system can be developed at the institute. The document had the approval of the BoG. A link to the same is provided, here. As per the same, he emphatically felt that the following actions steps can very significantly and effectively inculcate the entrepreneurship culture in the institute and that the dream can be realized:
He engaged himself and majority of the vision expressed in the document was translated into actions and to reality with a very exceptional aggression within the short span of the first 3 years of his joining IITBBS. He was responsible for the creation of the Technology Incubation Center, Startup Center and a Research and Entrepreneurship Park in a quick succession at the institute. Furthermore, the necessary academic interventions were made to support implementation of the culture. Subsequently, workshops on ‘How to Start an Enterprise’ were also conducted with country-wide participation to help serving the bigger objective and aspiration of the nation. The creative activity is briefly described, here for illustration and posterity. From Director’s Desk, Annual Report (2015-16) – Articulations on creation of the policy / model and Incubator A Vision-cum-model to Foster Entrepreneurship at IITBBS
Creation of The Technology Incubation Center (TIC): The TIC was started with a very close guidance provided by Prof Raja Kumar to facilitate entrepreneurship amongst the students and faculty of the institute. Under the TIC, limited space has been provided to the Incubates in any lab of the institute and thus it spans across the whole academic campus of the institute. This was a unique innovation. There is a PIC (E-Cell) who heads the activity. A number of faculty members and student groups enrolled themselves in the TIC and incubated technologies. List of some of the early Incubates are provided at the link:
List of Early Incubates from the institute: https://www.iitbbs.ac.in/images/List%20of%20Incubatees%20in%20Technology%20Incubation%20Centre%2029_3_19-converted%20(2).pdf https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2015/nov/03/Incubation-Centre-to-Boost-IIT-Startups-837977.html
The (6000sft) IITBBS Startup Center at the Samantapuri campus (now shifted to the REP building)
Creation of The Startup Center (SUC): The SUC was created as per the vision document and very close guidance provided by Prof Raja Kumar, director. A space of 6000 sft was initially provided in the SES building of the IIT Kharagpur extension center facility, Samantapuri campus after the SES was shifted to the permanent campus. This SUC space was to cater to the initial Startup space for the startups to be selected from across the whole country including the students and faculty of the institute. There is a PIC (SUC) who heads the activity. Later on the SUC was shifted to the IITBBS Entrepreneurship Park building in order for IIT Kharagpur to provide the space to ICT Mumbai’s Odisha campus. A panel of Chartered accountants and legal experts were also created by SUC to help the Startups. There was a restaurant very close by serving the food court requirements.
Announcements were made at Pan India level with call for enrollment at the SUC annually and there has been a very good response. A number of companies started their journey as Startups in the SUC and later on graduated out. Dates of the selections made the first few against pan India announcements were as follows:
Two prominent Startup that were initiated at the SUC were Vasitars and Jar Lights. This could not have been possible, but for the aggressive completion of infrastructure in the permanent campus personally shouldered by Prof Kumar and shifting of SES to there.
Inauguration of the Startup Center by Prof Raja Kumar, director dt. 20th June 2016. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/Start-up-centre-established-at-IIT-Bhubaneswar/article14394261.ece
The (33,000 sft) IITBBS Research & Entrepreneurship parkr at the Samantapuri campus.
Ambitious Creation of the IITBBS Research and Entrepreneurship Park (REP): The REP was established as a Section-8 company going by the vision document created by Prof Raja Kumar, very ambitiously to jump to the activity level of the senior IIT’s. Prof Raja Kumar persuaded IIT Bhubaneswar to provide the erstwhile Workshop space measuring 33,000 sft where SIF was established, on temporary basis to REP. The REP was incorporated on the 12th Oct 2017, with Prof R V Raja Kumar as its founding Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Prof R K Panda and Dr Ankush Sharma were the other directors. The REP was virtually inaugurated by Prof Raja Kumar in a solemn event on 14th Oct 2017. Establishment of the REP could not have been possible, but for the aggressive completion of infrastructure in the permanent campus personally shouldered by Prof Kumar and shifting of SIF to the there. Possibly IITBBS is the only institute amongst the 2nd generation IIT’s to have an incubator, Startup center and an Enterpreneurship Park.
Very pleasantly then, Smt Sushmita Bagchi & Sr Subrato Bagchi came up with a philanthropic support with matching grants from STPI and the Startup Council, Govt of Odisha to establish a Center of Excellence in the area of AR-VR (VARCoE) to promote technology development and entrepreneurship activity in this important area with a starting funding of Rs 7.50 crore. The VARCoE was established within REP. Prof Kumar worked on an innovative model and to start with, the lab facilities of VARCoE are placed in the academic schools of the institutes using the funds coming from REP.
The VARCoE, REP took up several activities such as creating facilities for AR-VR, organizing grand challenges with pan India participation and funding of R&D projects by the side of other activities. The initial grand challenges include,
IIT Bhubaneswar Establishes IITBBS Research and Entrepreneurship Park https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/centre-of-excellence-for-virtual-and-augmented-reality-to-be-set-up-at-iit-bhubaneswar/articleshow/62573144.cms https://www.iitbbs.ac.in/documents/CONCLAVE%20AND%20HACKATHON%20ON%20VIRTUAL%20AND%20AUGMENTED%20REALITY%20BEGINS%20AT%20IIT%20BHUBANESWAR-Odisha%20News%20Times-11th%20Jan%202020.pdf https://www.iitbbs.ac.in/WAVR-2021/index.php
A seminar on ‘How to start an Enterprise’, 5th Feb 2022.
Academic Interventions at IITBBS: Prof Kumar relentlessly worked on the implementation of the vision in a number of ways. He personally encouraged the faculty through his addresses and even by other means to implement items (1) to (3). He personally worked on the creation of Breadth courses like “Entrepreneurship and Small Ventures”, “Small Business Management” and similar other courses at IITBBS.
Workshops on ‘How to Start a Company’: Prof Raja Kumar says, “the knowledge of how start company and the funding opportunities, a common knowledge of every engineering graduate in our country: He also conceptualized and got a day long workshop on, “How to Start a Company” organized by online mode at IIT Bhubaneswar with huge participation from across the nation. He desires that this be repeated multiple times every year. Furthermore, he personally encouraged and supported the student event, “E-Summit” https://www.iitbbs.ac.in/news.php?id=1383 https://www.dailypioneer.com/2022/state-editions/iit-holds-webinar-on--how-to--start--enterprise-.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=AJCj57ede6k
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