EDII Ahmedabad hosts innovation and entrepreneurship meet

Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad under the support of the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell, Govt. of India and AICTE hosted the 14th Regional Meet on Thursday at EDII campus. The objective of the meet was to foster entrepreneurship ecosystem and innovations among students.  

The one-day event saw participation of more than 400 people from 185 institutions from across and around Gujarat and more than 75 startup stalls showcased their innovative startup ideas. The Chief Guest at the event was Dr. Kuberbhai M Dindor, Minister of State, Higher & Technical Education, Govt. of Gujarat and the Guest of Honour was Shri M Nagarajan IAS, Commissioner, Higher Education Department, Govt. of Gujarat. 

“I am glad that we, as a society, have started directing focused efforts towards placing entrepreneurship on the same pedestal as other career options. Today, entrepreneurship is getting its due as a natural career option and students are stepping forth with the choice of opting for entrepreneurship as a career,” Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director General, EDII said. “I am happy that focused efforts are going into strengthening entrepreneurship in Higher Learning Institutions. Their role is critical in deep rooting entrepreneurship, especially among the younger generation.” 

The meet focused on discussions around the impact of quality HEI participation on the IIC model, policy awareness and advocacy for the I&E initiatives of MIC and AICTE. Participants were exposed to YUKTI-National Innovation Repository (NIR), which is a process of innovation repository creation in institutes by identifying, scouting ideas, innovations and start-ups from among students, alumni/recent graduates, faculty members, staff, entrepreneurs incubated at the institute.   

“We all know the wonders that an entrepreneurial nation can do, and we look forward to ensuring the status of the ‘foremost’ entrepreneurial nation for this country. India, and also Gujarat, have an amazing combination of institutions, policies and investors,” Chief Guest, Dr. Kuberbhai M Dindor, Minister of State, Higher & Technical Education, Govt. of Gujarat said. “The state encourages the younger generation to come forth with their unique ideas. Thinking out of the box is encouraged, and it is clearly visible in the rising number of unicorns and the enhanced startup ratio of the country.”  

A roundtable meet was also organized as a part of the Regional Meet, engaging regional ecosystem enablers. Alongside four technical interaction sessions were organized on topics including, Creating and Sustaining I&E Ecosystem; Visualizing and Developing action plans for I&E Ecosystem in HEIs; Benchmarking, Measuring I&E Ecosystem in HEIs & Impact creation and IP & Technology Transfer.  

“The task is huge and institutions, policy makers, regulatory bodies and the society at large need to put in concerted efforts to see sustainable results. Entrepreneurship is a growth engine for the country, and must be promoted by all means,” Guest of Honour, Shri M Nagarajan IAS, Commissioner, Higher Education Department, Govt. of Gujarat said. “Today’s youth is inventive and bubbling with ideas. They should be encouraged and their ideas should be nurtured. I feel happy to state that Gujarat is playing a pivotal role in meeting these requirements.” 

Mr. Dipan Sahu, Asst. Innovation Director, MoE’s Innovation Cell & AICTE, Govt. of India said, “I am glad to mention that the IIC regional meets are inspiring great ideas which are proving to be extremely helpful towards creating a conducive entrepreneurship ecosystem. IIC is one such institution which is an enabler in the fields of innovations and entrepreneurship, and we are working together with institutions PAN India in building a strong ecosystem. I look forward to a massive surge of entrepreneurs in the country, with more youths coming up with their innovative ideas.” 

Dr. C.S. Verma, CRO, AICTE, Bhopal said, “IICs help in linking institutions, academicians, entrepreneurs and society in a thread so as to bolster the entrepreneurial ecosystem. We, as an enabler, along with executive bodies, try to place focus on innovation and creativity at the grassroots level. A higher incidence of innovation will lead to employment generation which is the need-of-the-hour. “

At the event, awards were presented to 5 best innovation stalls and creative posters.