ISB to collaborate with IITs, research institutions to monetize innovation

The Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad is expanding its network across the country’s booming entrepreneurial landscape. The B-School will collaborate with other research institutes such as Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and to help commercialise their technology and innovations. As part of this effort, ISB will offer incubation facilities to off-campus entrepreneurs at its in-house incubation centre — Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development. “These scientists have been developing stacks of products and new IPs [intellectual properties] for years, but only 15-20% of them see light of the day while the rest of the innovations are hidden diamonds,” Wadhwani Centre Executive Director Dr. Krishna Tanuku said.

The new initiative aims to translate more R&D [research & development] ideas available in the pipeline for future entrepreneurial ventures. Besides providing a business model and supporting ecosystem, the initiative will offer mentoring and connectivity for viable ventures. “We have a vision to create the ecosystem like in the Silicon Valley in the U.S. Initially, the incubation facility was limited to only ISB graduates, now we are moving up the value chain and going to offer these facilities to upcoming entrepreneurs outside the campus,” Tanuku added.

This is a trend first established at other premier business schools such as the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) at Ahmedabad and Bangalore. “A lot of interesting R&D works are going at various scientific institutes and MNCs. Entrepreneurs can first identify a problem and collaborate with scientists to solve these problems,” says Kunal Upadhyay, Chief Executive at the Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at IIM-Ahmedabad.

ISB, India’s only school to be ranked in the Financial Times MBA ranking, has already helped its students to partner with international funding providers — the Soros Economic Development Fund, the Omidyar Network and Google — to create a fund called Song (from the names of its founders) to finance small companies that have a positive socio-economic impact. Sequoia Capital and Song Advisors recently invested US$ 15million in K12 Techno Services, a school management company focused on providing affordable schooling in south India. Songs other major investment has been in Eye Q Vision, a chain of high-quality, low-cost eyecare hospitals based in the north of India.

“We have produced over 200 entrepreneurs from the past nine years,” said Aruna Reddy, Assistant Director at ISB’s Wadhwani Centre. Last week, ISB conducted Propero that provided a platform for alumni and students who have either started a venture or have ideated one to interact with investors for prospective fund raising. Around 20 investors reviewed the business plans of some 60 alumni who have turned entrepreneurs. “We got our idea validated from investors who had come here and that is a good news for us,” said Sriram Krishnamoorthy, a former TCS employee who along with his ISB classmate Shruti Narayan incubated Wizda Solutions on the campus this year. Wizda makes simulation games for B-Schools and corporates. “There is a need for more such initiatives at other B-schools and research institutes as the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India is at a very nascent stage. More than financial support, there is need for support from large companies to leverage the capabilities of the startups,” says Prof. Suresh Bhagavatula of NSRCEL incubation cell at IIM-Bangalore.

Other firms incubated at ISB ranging from pre-schools to high-technology ventures have started bagging various projects. For instance, Nurturing Nest, a pre-school venture catering to all the developmental needs of a child. MoveInSyncs vision is to reduce the cost of transportation. Its products enable web and mobile service for ‘Sharing a Cab’ with a trusted co-passenger of your choice. It has over 500 registered users who are actively using the service to save money and fuel to commute. Ventures such as Green India Building Systems and Services offers energy solutions to help buildings reduce costs, has received a few pilot orders from leading five star hotels in Mumbai. Another venture Dhruvstar Infra Solutions, which provides tools to bring efficiency in the construction industry, has bagged projects from a premier AP government agency.

Source: The Economic Times, December 21, 2010

Grooming entrepreneurship in classrooms

Educational institutions across the country are doubling as nurseries where great ideas are planted and nurtured, helping youngsters begin their incredible journey as entrepreneurs. Take Gaurav Singh, a final-year student at Mumbai business school NITIE, who, along with three of his classmates, already runs a thriving business. Over the past few months, the group has earned a neat Rs. 10 lakh by selling theme-based T-shirts. We got a lot of orders from colleges in Mumbai, and are in talks with Wipro and Deloitte, he said. Eight months into the business, they have even employed a few workers to do the knitting and embroidery, and a designer. Mr. Singh credits NITIE’s Entrepreneurship Cell with helping them market their ideas and conduct recruitments. Through a project called “Hamara Dhandha” (Our Business), the institute encourages students to launch and manage their own enterprises from the start of the MBA programme. The idea is to help students understand the link between all the 25 subjects they learn in their MBA course, says Prof. T. Prasad.

The S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) in Mumbai offers its final-year MBA students a course on entrepreneurship. The institute also offers an elective course wherein students work with entrepreneurs on a specific project. For students serious about starting their own venture, the institute has a Start Your Business programme. Besides developing the knowledge,skills and attitude for creating a sustainable new venture, this gets them connected to the entrepreneurial network, says Prof. Suresh Rao, Chairperson, Centre for Entrepreneurship at SPJIMR. The programme has four modules that takes a student through the stages of starting a new venture. Besides this, the institute is a founding member of the National Entrepreneurship Network that helps generate interest in entrepreneurship and create an entrepreneurial faculty in the country.

Other institutes are planning collaborations to give wings to budding businessmen. The entrepreneurship cells of two government-run institutes in Mumbai Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) and engineering college, Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) have entered into one such tie-up. Under the deal, students of VJTI will get marketing and finance-related support from their counterparts in JBIMS for the technical projects that they work on in their final year or during college festivals.

Many marketable projects die a natural death in college laboratories. Through this collaboration, we will involve students from both the institutes to create successful businesses, says Stephen Dsilva, Director, JBIMS. However, the concept has yet to catch on, with students being wary of the entrepreneurial process and job offers during campus placements seen as more lucrative. At NITIE, for instance, just three students opted out of the placement process in 2009 to start their own ventures, while this year all the students went in for campus placements. In the case of JBIMS, of the total 120 students, only one student opted out of placement this year, and in SPJIMR, over the past four to five years, just 10 to 12 candidates chose to become entrepreneurs. To address this concern, JBIMS will allow its former students to take part in placements.

Source: The Economic Times, May 7, 2010

Grooming entrepreneurship in classrooms

Educational institutions across the country are doubling as nurseries where great ideas are planted and nurtured, helping youngsters begin their incredible journey as entrepreneurs. Take Gaurav Singh, a final-year student at Mumbai business school NITIE, who, along with three of his classmates, already runs a thriving business. Over the past few months, the group has earned a neat Rs. 10 lakh by selling theme-based T-shirts. We got a lot of orders from colleges in Mumbai, and are in talks with Wipro and Deloitte, he said. Eight months into the business, they have even employed a few workers to do the knitting and embroidery, and a designer. Mr. Singh credits NITIE’s Entrepreneurship Cell with helping them market their ideas and conduct recruitments. Through a project called “Hamara Dhandha” (Our Business), the institute encourages students to launch and manage their own enterprises from the start of the MBA programme. The idea is to help students understand the link between all the 25 subjects they learn in their MBA course, says Prof. T. Prasad.

The S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) in Mumbai offers its final-year MBA students a course on entrepreneurship. The institute also offers an elective course wherein students work with entrepreneurs on a specific project. For students serious about starting their own venture, the institute has a Start Your Business programme. Besides developing the knowledge,skills and attitude for creating a sustainable new venture, this gets them connected to the entrepreneurial network, says Prof. Suresh Rao, Chairperson, Centre for Entrepreneurship at SPJIMR. The programme has four modules that takes a student through the stages of starting a new venture. Besides this, the institute is a founding member of the National Entrepreneurship Network that helps generate interest in entrepreneurship and create an entrepreneurial faculty in the country.

Other institutes are planning collaborations to give wings to budding businessmen. The entrepreneurship cells of two government-run institutes in Mumbai Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) and engineering college, Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) have entered into one such tie-up. Under the deal, students of VJTI will get marketing and finance-related support from their counterparts in JBIMS for the technical projects that they work on in their final year or during college festivals.

Many marketable projects die a natural death in college laboratories. Through this collaboration, we will involve students from both the institutes to create successful businesses, says Stephen Dsilva, Director, JBIMS. However, the concept has yet to catch on, with students being wary of the entrepreneurial process and job offers during campus placements seen as more lucrative. At NITIE, for instance, just three students opted out of the placement process in 2009 to start their own ventures, while this year all the students went in for campus placements. In the case of JBIMS, of the total 120 students, only one student opted out of placement this year, and in SPJIMR, over the past four to five years, just 10 to 12 candidates chose to become entrepreneurs. To address this concern, JBIMS will allow its former students to take part in placements.

Source: The Economic Times, May 7, 2010