Flipkart, Snapdeal & Myntra Pave Way for Entrepreneurship Lessons in IITs

IITs have always nurtured entrepreneurs in the making. It started with incubation cells that aim to engender entrepreneurs, which was followed by IIT Madras raising a fund for the start-ups and now IITs are all set to give entrepreneurship lessons in classrooms.  

IITs in Delhi, Kharagpur and Hyderabad are all set to introduce entrepreneurship as a part of their BTech curriculum. There will be minors as well as elective subjects on the same for students who have dreams of starting their own venture. All other IITs are also catching up on these trends.

Engineering institutes like IIT and BITS Pilani, and the leading management institute- the IIMs have nurtured great minds who are now leading the digital platform. From booking a cab (Taxi for Sure), to online shopping (Flipkart, Snapdeal, Myntra, Lenskart), to booking flights and hotels (Makemytrip), to booking busses (Redbus.com), everything is now just a click away due to the phenomenal skills these entrepreneurs have  imbibed from these institutes.

Read: IIT, IIM and BITS PILANI, Nurturing the Budding Entrepreneurs!

"This will benefit students who are not born into a business family, but yet aspire to run a company," Sasha Mirchandani, managing partner and founder of Kae Capital and founder of Mumbai Angels, a network of investors, said in an interview with an esteemed news agency. "If you have faculty members teaching entrepreneurship, students would be more willing to learn about start-ups and businesses," he added.

Entrepreneurship has taken down the Indian society due the innovative ideas and skills of the students. The latest addition of entrepreneurship in IITs has set a new benchmark for other institutes. It goes on to prove how the Indian education system is catching up on the latest trends. With so many successful case studies in India’s library of entrepreneurship, it is bound to motivate the energetic and the creative youth of India.

This new addition in the IIT curriculum will act as a guiding force for students who have the vision and ideas to make it big, but lack the correct approach. Institutes will help the students identify the paths most suitable for them and also fill those loopholes that hinder the development of their ventures.

These courses will be taught by actual entrepreneurs which makes it an added advantage for students. The mentors will be able to share the list of Do’s and Don’ts and help the students groom their ideas in accordance with the current industry trends.

With IITs in Madras, Mumbai, Gandhinagar, Kanpur, Patna and Mandi are just starting the race, IIT Delhi has already picked up momentum by launching a new course on entrepreneurship which will soon be modified into a minor course. A minor course is basically one that has a pre-defined course in a focus area as opposed to an elective which is an optional departmental or open-category course.

IIT Kharagpur is thinking of launching a micro or thin specialisation in engineering entrepreneurship for its BTech students next year. IIT Gandhinagar took the first baby step by sending a few engineering students to attend a course on entrepreneurship at Technion, a technology institute in Israel. This summer, IIT Gandhinagar sent a dozen engineering students to attend a course on entrepreneurship at Technion, a technology institute in Israel. They are offering the course as both as elective and minor to help the students get the guidance they deserve.

IITs are doing their bit by starting a new trend which is most likely to lay down the foundation of a shining future of the country. These courses are sure to bring down the number of ‘failed start-ups’ in the country. IITs will act as the guiding light to students who don’t belong to the business and wish to start their own thing. Entrepreneurship has already become a part of the curriculum of many management institutes but with the latest addition in IITs, many engineering institutes are sure to follow in order to beat the heat of the competition!