As an educationist I have been seeking and working towards enhancement of industry academia partnership. In fact, through many of Symbiosis International University’s collaborations with organizations such as the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (MCCIA) we have facilitated knowledge transfer from industry to academia, and later from academia to industry. I would I like to draw out the practical applications of theory that is taught in the Symbiosis’ classrooms.
Among the many examples that I can cite I would like to mention the most recent one. In the month of December 2021, Symbiosis Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SCEI) held an event for the women in the villages, to empower them to establish small businesses. Deepika Hajare, a student of MBA I&E, SIBM, Pune had a business idea related to selling chopped vegetables and home-made spices to Hotel-Restaurant-Cafe industry. Evincing the passion for business in Dipika, the CEO of SCEI, Mr Yogesh Brahmankar invited Dipika to interact with these women from villages. He wanted to accelerate the ideation and validation phase and most important element that a startup needs is getting right people for early-phase execution. Post interaction, Dipika’s idea of catering chopped vegetables to HoReCa industry drew the interest of 25+ women from the village. After two months, Prioritas India launched its manufacturing unit under the brand name Chopn’Chill. Training session (on chopping vegetables and fruits) of 10 days took place, and the selected women were trained by a well-known Chef in Pune. Today the company has a manufacturing unit based at Lavale with four amazing, hardworking super women. Chopn’Chill is currently serving the retail chains of restaurants with an order capacity of 100 kgs+ per day. I would thus say that education paves the way for sustainable labour. It is only when we provide knowledge to young entrepreneurs they gain the confidence to give shape to their vision, thus generating employment.
The Women Entrepreneur Development Program (WEDP) at SCEI strives to encourage ambitious and inventive women entrepreneurs by enabling them to turn their ideas into business initiatives.
Entrepreneurs can use the programme to gain business skills and connect with mentors while still in the early stages of their firm.
The six-week experiential training & mentoring programme, is delivered in live online mode, and is aimed at helping the participants establish and scale their ventures through mentoring, hand-holding, expert interactions, business plan guidance and networking opportunities.
This WEDP is sponsored and thus there is no training fees. Selected participants will have to pay a nominal registration & certification charge of Rs. 499. So, all you need is the passion for business and the will to turn your dream into reality.