Manish Sisodia exhorts students to develop entrepreneurial mindset

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday said it is time to utilise the country's talent for economic progress by not just celebrating high salary packages, but also students starting their own companies and providing jobs to others.

He was speaking during the convocation ceremony of Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW).

"Most of the talent nurtured in our universities are used by large, multinational companies. But, now it's opportune time for our students to work towards building such companies. To utilise our talent for our nation's progress, it is imperative that our students develop an entrepreneurial mindset. We should celebrate high salary packages, but we should also celebrate when our students build companies and provide jobs to many," Sisodia said

"The aim of education should not be to just get high salary packages in multinational companies. Rather it should be to equip our children so that they create many multinational companies. Students earning high salary in a multinational firm will only be able to contribute monetarily to our economy, whereas those founding new companies will contribute much more to our economic progress," he said.

A total of 487 students received their degrees during the convocation ceremony. Two students of the university received Chancellor award and 11 students received Vice-chancellor award, while one student received Exemplary performance award.

Sisodia, who is also Delhi education minister, appreciated the fact that 200 female students are pursuing PhD in the university.

"As per a report, there have been only 31 girl students among 86 school toppers in the last 20 years. Boy school toppers get more work opportunities in foreign countries as well. This highlights the gender bias in our society. But IGDTUW is playing a crucial role in shaping the talent of our girl students.

"The true parameter of a university's success should be the number of research papers published or the number of companies founded by its students. The students have secured good placements and high salary packages. However, that should not be the only metric of a university's progress. A university's aim should be to inculcate an entrepreneurial mindset among the students rather than a job-seeking one," Sisodia added.