Academia- industry Ties Will be Strengthened to Nurture Startups: P Rajeeve

KOCHI:
The government plans to strengthen partnerships between academic institutions and industrial establishments in Kerala as part of the policy to promote entrepreneurship culture and facilitate startups to flourish, Minister for Industries and Law P Rajeeve said today, while inaugurating Asia’s largest conclave for aspiring student entrepreneurs.

Around 6,000 delegates from various educational institutions participated in the IEDC (Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centres) Summit, organised by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in association with Rajagiri School of Engineering & Technology (RSET) at Kakkanad.

‘Unravelling Dimensions Uniting Perspectives” is the theme of the summit, aiming at bringing together innovations from various domains.

“As per our perspective, the educational institutions should have the capacity to provide answers to the problems faced by industries. And, on the other hand, industries should leverage the outcome of the research conducted by the educational institutions to increase production”, Rajeeve said.

Kerala is one of the best ecosystems in South Asia for startups and there are state-of-the-art facilities at the Integrated Startup Complex in Kalamassery to help startups. Thanks to the banks in Kerala, the credit extended to MSMEs in the past 10 months stood at Rs 50,000 crore, which is RS 10,000 crore more than the last financial year, the minister pointed out.

Anoop Ambika, CEO, KSUM, who presided over the inaugural session, said as part of the IEDC project has set a target of producing at least one entrepreneur from each college in the State.

Kerala, currently has about 425 IEDCs functioning in various educational institutions and the same number of entrepreneurs are expected to be groomed by next year, guided by KSUM as the state’s nodal agency for promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship under the government’s Department of Electronics and IT, Anoop Ambika said.

“There are several products imported to the country which are actually made of raw materials exported from Kerala. Goods made of latex is an example. Now, we are coming out with a project for the universities to encourage and extend support for them to make products here itself and tap the large domestic market “, he said.

Kochousep Chittilappily, founder and chairman, V-Guard Industries, in his keynote address said there are reports that 90 among the 100 startups in India are forced to close down due to several reasons. Though there will be financial trap, the startup entrepreneurs should be ready to fly back with a willpower to turn their ventures into success stories, he added.

Dr P S Sreejith, principal, RSET, Shruti Singh, senior manager, Startup India, Rev Dr Jose Kuriedath, CMI, director, RSET and Eby Sheesh, CEO, RSET IEDC spoke.

Loknath Behra, managing director, Kochi Metro Rail Limited, delivered the keynote address at the valedictory function. Tom Thomas, COO, Kerala Startup Mission, presided. Dr Jaison Paul Mulerickal CMI, vice-president, RSET, Akshay Pradeep, IEDC NEST Lead, Nitheesh Kurian, Nodal Officer, RSET IEDC and Sweta Sarachandra, Quality and Operations Lead, RSET IEDC, participated.

IEDC Summit is a premier event that brings together the most ambitious and innovative student entrepreneurs from across the continent to share their ideas, experiences, and knowledge. The summit is an amalgamation of events from a range of domains, including technology, entrepreneurship and skill development. It facilitates as a platform for connecting student innovators, industry leaders and various startups in addition to providing an opportunity for them to engage and network.

Mentorship program for 40 student entrepreneurs, panel discussions, workshops, fireside chats, experience zones, product expo, startup expo, EV expo, flea market and ideathons were conducted as part of the summit. Each event has been specifically curated to cater to the needs of aspiring student entrepreneurs adhering to the theme of the summit.