THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
In a bid to create a robust and conducive ecosystem for harnessing the innovation potential of students in an academic set up, the recently launched SV.CO will offer its expertise to engineering colleges in India to help them become Startup Centres of Excellence under a Central Government scheme.
SV.CO, the world’s first digital incubator for students, will create Startup Centres of Excellence at those colleges where Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre (IEDC) of the Kerala Startup Mission is already functioning.
“Startup India has invited applications from colleges to set up incubators as Atal Innovation Centers. Having a robust management support and students startups in campus are crucial for getting selected to these national programmes,” said Startup Village Chairman Sanjay Vijayakumar.
SV.CO and its industry partners would provide direct support and specific training on best practices to both faculty and students of selected colleges, he added. Internet Giant Facebook has recently signed an MoU with Startup Village for industry-academia collaboration.
Vijayakumar will announce the Startup Center of Excellence programme during a presentation at an all-Kerala IEDC meet, being organised by Kerala Startup Mission on Tuesday (August 23).
SV.CO, which is a digital makeover of Startup Village (India’s first PPP model technology incubator), has launched #StartInCollege programme to select 50 student teams from across the country to build products and launch to early customers in six months.
“The #StartInCollege programme has received an overwhelming support from students and faculty across the state. Faculty and management of many colleges have requested support from SV.CO to build a startup culture amongst their students,” Vijayakumar said.
All college managements can nominate up to 10 teams from amongst their students across branches for #StartInCollege programme at www.sv.co. If at least three teams from a college get selected, that college will become eligible for the Startup Centres of Excellence Programme by SV.CO.
“The selected students will be fully supported to become successful and turn into role models to inspire other students within the college and community,” Vijayakumar said, adding: “The best faculty will also be taken to Silicon Valley for global exposure.”
