Sunday, March 15, 2015

Wadhwani Foundation and National Entrepreneurship Network organize a first of its kind ‘Entrepreneurship Education Conclave’



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Pic 1 – A report on ‘Scalability and Impact Assessment of the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) Model’ was launched by Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy - Hon’ble Minister of State (I/C) for MSDE (Skill Development and Entrepreneurship) (third from right), (from R to L) Prof. Sunil Shukla Head, Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Research, EDII & New Designated Director (First), Rob Lynes – Country Director, British Council (Second), Shri Sashi Chimala - Executive Vice President, NEN (forth), Shri. Pawan Agarwal - Joint Secretary, MSDE (Fifth) and Ms. Jyotsna Sitling - IFS Joint Secretary, MSDE (Sixth) during the ‘Entrepreneurship Education Conclave’ held by Wadhwani Foundation at India Habitat Centre

  • The conclave is a unique effort by Wadhwani Foundation’s flagship initiative, National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) to facilitate dialogue and discussion towards entrepreneurship development by building in-campus entrepreneurial aspiration and talent, and supporting development and growth of emerging entrepreneurs in the country

  • Featuring practicing educators, mentors, coaches of entrepreneurship, heads of incubators, Vice Chancellors, directors and deans of universities and institutes, bureaucrats and policy makers

  • In strategic partnership with key players in the entrepreneurial eco-system - Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), British Council, Intel and Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI)
Rounded Rectangle: Panel Discussion topics:
• Entrepreneurial leadership amongst the youth – Education and technology in entrepreneurship development
• The role of Government and industry in promoting Entrepreneurship in Academia : Indian and global perspectives
• Driving Innovation and entrepreneurship on Campus
• Symbiotic Possibilities: Student E Cells and Entrepreneurial Community - Launching and growing successful ventures from campus and beyond
13th March 2015, Mumbai: With an aim to promote entrepreneurship education in the country, National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), the flagship Initiative of Wadhwani Foundation today organized the‘Entrepreneurship Education Conclave’ at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
The primary objective of the conclave was to foster, promote and support innovators and leaders with entrepreneurial talent and to provide recognition and endorsement to budding entrepreneurs. The conclave succeeded in providing a platform for open dialogue amongst the leaders of academia to mainstream entrepreneurship education by providing training and support to entrepreneurship educators and demonstrated effective global models of entrepreneurship development, the challenges faced and the outcomes. It also highlighted models of emerging excellence and introduced a recognition channel for the growing entrepreneurship community of educators, mentors and program managers.
The conclave was graced by Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Hon’ble Minister of State (I/C) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship who gave the keynote address said, “One of Ministry’s initiatives is to collaborate with strategic partners in the public and private sphere by expanding the existing entrepreneurship education program and creating a pedagogy resource pool. I see this conclave as a great opportunity for churning and distilling original ideas that have practical application in promoting entrepreneurship culture and entrepreneurship education ecosystem amongst the students of our country. I look forward for a visionary co-operation of leaders in academia, policy makers, practicing mentors and the industry fraternity to join this mission as our moral responsibility that we owe to our aspiring youths of young India.”
Other dignitaries included Shri Sunil Arora, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Shri Pawan Agarwal, IAS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Ms. Jyotsna Sitling, IFS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Dr. Ajay Kela, President & CEO, Wadhwani Foundation said, “India needs to create 10-12 million jobs a year for the next two decades to realize its demographic dividend. A culture of widespread entrepreneurship creating cross-sector high-potential startups is one solution to this challenge. Wadhwani Foundation’s flagship initiative, National Entrepreneurship Network, for over a decade has been creating high potential entrepreneurs in colleges/universities across India who in turn create meaningful companies and jobs. It gives me great pleasure that NEN has organized this first-of-its-kind ‘Entrepreneurship Education Conclave’ to promote entrepreneurship education. I hope the support and recognition given to educators, entrepreneurs and leaders through this conclave will catalyze our efforts in entrepreneurial development and create new avenues for economic growth.”
The conclave partners have been known for their commitment to entrepreneurship development. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is striving to make broad policies and catalyze existing and new skill development and entrepreneurship initiatives in the country. British Council (through policy dialogues) connects people to debate the challenges and opportunities facing International Higher Education. Intel (through its higher education program in India) works closely with premier engineering universities, research institutions and the Government, to build a more skilled workforce and an enabling ecosystem that supports innovation and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India is focused to become a catalyst in facilitating emergence of competent first generation entrepreneurs and transition of existing MSMEs into growth oriented enterprises through entrepreneurship education, training, research and institution building.

Some of the seasoned panelists of the conclave included Shri Pawan Agarwal, IAS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Ms. Jyotsna Sitling, IFS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Prof. Sunil Shukla (EDII), Prof. Ernest Cadotte (University of Tennessee), Ms Swati Samaddar (Intel), Ms Parul Soni (E&Y), Prof. Jay Bal (Course Leader for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Warwick manufacturing group, Warwick University) and Sunita Singh, co -founder NEN and VP-Wadhwani Foundation.
Speaking about the conclave, Sashi Chimala, Executive Vice President, National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) said, “Educational Institutes have a vital role to play in grooming the next generation of entrepreneurs in India. Wadhwani Foundation and National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) are delighted to bring together the key stakeholders, including the policy makers and educators, to shape the future of entrepreneurship education in India. ‘Entrepreneurship Education Conclave’ is the first ever event to recognize the best educators of entrepreneurship in India. We are proud of our long standing partnership with these institutes in pioneering entrepreneurship education in India."
The conclave culminated with the announcement of awards under the categories of Emerging Entrepreneurship Educator, Entrepreneurship Education ChampionEntrepreneurship Educator & MentorBest E Cell Entrepreneurship Eco-System Builder and High Impact Entrepreneurship Campus. These awards designed to honor faculty members who have exemplified the highest levels of excellence in the pursuit of the entrepreneurial mission to develop entrepreneurs. These awards will go a long way in creating models of excellence for fellow faculty members and encouraging them to improve the entrepreneurial pursuits through their teaching, mentoring and scholarly activities.
About Wadhwani Foundation and National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN):
Founded in 2000 by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, the Foundation’s primary mission is economic acceleration in emerging economies.  The Foundation is driving economic growth in India and other Asian countries through large-scale initiatives in job creation and skill development.  To achieve this, Wadhwani Foundation has launched five high impact Initiatives in India, with the goal of creating and filling 25 million jobs in the next 5 years.
 For job creation, Wadhwani Foundation established the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) in 2003. NEN has built a strong network with 600 colleges, 4000 mentors and 3200 faculty in India that continue to inspire, educate and support emerging entrepreneurs.  Thousands of practicing entrepreneurs and startups are also supported through NEN’s Entrepreneur Academy www.nenonline.tv that features hundreds of short videos from experienced entrepreneurs, angels, VCs along with dozens of longer video courses and blog posts. Since inception, NEN has resulted in 2,000 new startups with 12,000+ direct and 50,000+ indirect jobs and is now tracking 1,500+ new companies each year.
Other Initiatives of Wadhwani Foundation include Skills Development Network (SDN) which supports multiple college, high school and employer initiatives for entry level mid-skill jobs,Opportunity Network for Disabled (OND) aimed at mainstreaming the educated disabled into sustainable high quality corporate jobs, Research and Innovation Network (RIN) aimed to upgrade India’s research eco-system by catalyzing ‘Centers of Innovations’ in partnership with existing research Institutes and Policy for informed policy actions towards creating a human-capital driven growth economy.

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