MIT to hold global start-up workshop in Hyderabad

Start-ups from 70 countries to take part; 350 of the best start-ups will be chosen for the event from about 10,000 applications

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, in partnership with Hyderabad-based Catalyzer Startup Accelerator, will be organising the 19th edition of its premier Global Startup Workshop (GSW) in Hyderabad from March 21.

The three-day conference, awarded to Catalyzer through a competitive bidding process, expects start-ups from about 70 countries. About 350 of the best start-ups will be chosen for the event from close to 10,000 applications received from all over the world.

“Essentially, the focus of MIT GSW 2016 will be on shifting focus from short-term engagement of founders via creating and selling startups to establishing a business, making it sustainable and building a growth culture around it,” said Sunil Mayreddy, founder of Catalyzer.

Originally a spun-off of MIT’s 100K Business Plan Competition, GSW was first launched in 1998 to promote entrepreneurial culture and construct entrepreneurial ecosystems at a global scale.

According to Mayreddy, the event would deliberate on various issues that India is currently facing, to include close to 10 panel sessions on shattering stereotypes in entrepreneurship and building a sustainable ecosystem with a focus on women in entrepreneurship to renewable energy, water and power crisis in India, facilitating movement of innovation from lab to market, disrupting the health paradigm and igniting social development.

“Apart from the discussions and conversations, the MIT GSW will provide a platform for extensive coaching for the 350 startups selected to participate in the event. MIT will allot a mentor to a group of 10 participants,” he said, adding that the event would help government officials, and incubators and accelerators benchmark themselves globally, and device policies and design startup programmes, respectively.