Date:18/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/18/stories/2008051855861700.htm

Business

Focus on ventures based on technology

Staff Reporter

Students told to use incubation centre

‘Make use of entrepreneurial schemes’
Pace of Innovation has gone up drastically

KOCHI: Skills required for entrepreneurs were discussed at a workshop here on Saturday. The programme ‘Technopreneur 2008’ was jointly organised by Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram, Infopark, Kochi, Cochin University of Science & Technology (Cusat), The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) and a host of other organisations.

The workshop was targeted at students desirous of launching technology-based ventures. A few of them were allowed to discuss their projects with experts. The selected projects could be processed at the incubation centre at Technopark.

The students would be provided necessary guidance for getting funds and technical assistance. A few projects were selected at similar programmes conducted earlier in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.

Inaugurating the workshop, A.S. Rao, advisor, Department of Science and Technology, said India was becoming the hub of new technological enterprises in a variety of segments. Pointing out that there were schemes to help prospective entrepreneurs, he exhorted the students to have a dream and strive to realise it.

In his keynote address, H.K. Mittal, advisor, Department of Science and Technology, said the incubation facility being offered to the students would enable them to face the vagaries of business. A good entrepreneur would require the right attitude, skills and knowledge.

N.Radhakrishnan Nair, CEO, Technopark, presiding over the inaugural function, said there was plan to conduct similar programmes at a few other places. More than 30 organisations that launched their initiatives at the incubation centre at Infopark were successful and expanding their projects. The risk involved in an innovative project would be borne by the sponsoring authority and not by the entrepreneur.

Gangan Pratap, Vice-Chancellor of Cusat, lamented that research was not a priority for many institutions including engineering colleges.

Entrepreneurs as well as the supporting agencies should have the courage to take the projects through decisive phases to reach the goal.

Siddharth Bhattacharya, CEO, Infopark, Kochi, said the pace of innovation had gone up drastically during the last few years. The trend would continue and the next 20 years would provide exciting opportunities for the entrepreneurs.

Subhash Babu, STED Project Director; K.Chandrasekhar, Executive Director, TIE Kerala; K.C. Chandrasekharan Nair, Programme Coordinator, New Initiatives, Technopark, and others spoke.