Entrepreneurship Week draws to a close

Entrepreneurship Week (E Week) India 2009, an initiative of the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), culminated in a grand closing ceremony in Bangalore on Saturday. Seven colleges were declared champions out of 400 participating colleges, with over 350,000 students being being exposed to entrepreneurial opportunities.

This year’s E-Week India National Championship Awards were bagged by ISBR Business School - Bangalore; Sri Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain College - Bangalore; Bengal College of Engineering & Technology - Durgapur; IPS Academy - Indore; Muffakham Jah College of Engineering & Technology - Hyderabad; Institute of Engineering & Management - Kolkata and Heritage Institute of Technology - Kolkata.

In addition, nine colleges were declared runners-up, while Chennai’s SMK Fomra Institute of Technology received a special mention for its public awareness events and made it to the E Week Honor Roll along with eight others.

The Creativity and Innovation Award was awarded to Atharva College of Engineering - Mumbai, while the Most Effective Public Awareness Campaign Award was bagged by IPS Academy - Indore.

Held from February 7-14, E Week India 2009 was aimed at encouraging students to think creatively and explore alternative business models, sustainable technologies and ideas against the backdrop of the enormous environmental challenges facing the nation.

Delivering the keynote address, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman and managing director, Biocon said, “The global economic crisis has created a challenging environment for business. This is a defining time for young entrepreneurs as they address opportunities that are strongly linked to global challenges of ensuring sustainability in all fields - be it transportation, networks, healthcare, food or energy dependency for the future.”

Students participated in an array of entrepreneurial activities ranging from green business plans, awareness marathons and rallies to talks and panel discussions on innovation-based entrepreneurship, besides, village yatras where voluntary student scouts compiled information on local and grassroot level livelihood means, with the aim to support green and alternative business opportunities.