To commemorate 75 years of Indian independence a webinar on ‘Building Incubation Ecosystem in NEHU’ was organised today by the Incubation Centre at the university in association with the Department of Geology.
Prof. (Dr.) Devesh Walia, CEO, Incubation Centre, NEHU and Head of the Department of Geology spoke on the goal of the centre and said its aim is to promote technology-based entrepreneurship and to facilitate practical application of knowledge for public use.
Walia highlighted that the pathways for entrepreneurs entails teaching strategies and learning environments which offer targeted support for NEHU fraternity and others, those who aim at setting up a business.
He emphasized that spreading awareness among students, faculty and staff about the value of entrepreneurship and its role in career development or employability will be a part of the NEHU entrepreneurial agenda with policy, rules and regulations.
NEHU Vice Chancellor, Prof. P. S. Shukla in his inaugural address emphasized that the ideas and activities of young generations can contribute handsomely for economic dynamism and growth. He said that innovative minds and equally useful resources of the region can come together to create indigenous methods such as in the agricultural field, and other local based enterprises that promote socio-cultural development, as well as the economic development of the people.
Subhrangshu Sanyal, CEO, IIM Kolkata Innovation Park gave an insight on the incubation ecosystem that leads to a new important role for action-based entrepreneurship education, i.e., to supply the entrepreneurial minds that will populate the regional innovation system.
He also emphasized that strategic policies towards entrepreneurial ecosystem building support the increasing entrepreneurial activity in the region. With his vast experience of helping build the entrepreneurial set up in the NE region he assured of full support to NEHU to rise up and build.
Flo Oberhofer, CEO, Prime Hub delivered a talk on the Start-up & Incubation Ecosystem of Meghalaya and the role of prime hubs. He stressed that to make entrepreneurship a preferred career choice for the youth of the state and through the creation of an ecosystem that enables easy availability to credit technology, markets, skilling and monitoring.
Oberhofer said prime hubs will provide systematic and targeted support to aspiring entrepreneurs that will be of one stop shop for the different segments of entrepreneurs of the state and it will also solve some of the problems commonly associated with running a start up by providing workspace, seed funding, mentoring, and training.
The programme was concluded with Valedictory Address by N.K. Bhatt – a physically challenged person who could achieve the unachievable due to his passion to cure and sustain the health of people; Founding Director, KB Systems Pvt. Ltd.
He highlighted that the entrepreneurship can be a challenging, but to develop that entrepreneurial mindset, needs to constantly search for and identify current problems or opportunities and try to come up with unique solutions. The entrepreneurial skill set is not only useful in business; the skills entrepreneurs develop are transferrable to almost every other area of a person’s life and career.
