MANIPAL / MANGALURU: Developing a culture of entrepreneurship is the order of the day, said TV Mohandas Pai, chairman of Manipal Global Education Services Pvt Ltd. The youth have great potential and need to be encouraged to embrace innovation and entrepreneurship.
Youth can be inspired by organizing a series of interactive sessions with successful large business founders, Pai said at a virtual meeting promoting the entrepreneurial ecosystem on the Karnataka coast on Friday.
The region’s universities must play a leadership role in strengthening the business ecosystem by engaging industry and all relevant stakeholders, Pai said.
A common platform in the form of a consortium of universities and other stakeholders should be developed. The implementation of major challenges by consortia can have greater implications. University courses must focus on developing quality skills and hands-on experience, he said.
A structured implementation of these measures will lead to more than ten unicorns from Karnataka on the coast in the next ten years, said Pai. These measures will also ensure that youth in the region find employment in their place and are not forced to migrate to overcrowded metropolitan areas in search of careers, he said. Entrepreneurial units in the region will also facilitate the coast’s development as an economic center, he noted.
Opening the meeting, Lieutenant General (Dr) MD Venkatesh, Vice Chancellor of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, emphasized the need to develop the regional economy by strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem beyond university boundaries. He also stressed the need to encourage entrepreneurship at home and even at the school level. He also proposed annual tech / entrepreneurship events at the regional level.
Vice Chancellor of the Regional Universities, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Chapter Mangaluru, representatives of various departments of the central government, the state governments, President of India’s STEP and Business Incubator Association, co-founders of leading companies in the region and CEOs of the region’s incubators shared their views as panelists. Students, teachers, entrepreneurs, start-ups and industry professionals attended the meeting.
