This pandemic and the unprecedented lockdown have hit many people around the world. The impact has been multi-fold on work, shopping, entertainment, and Education, all of which have shifted online. But nothing could stop this determined bunch of people at IIM Rohtak. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council (EIC) at IIM Rohtak has exploited this virtual-world, imposed by the pandemic, to the fullest.
In offline mode, EIC activities included incubation services, guest lectures, workshops, and some competitions. But amid this pandemic, EIC did not just stop there; this year, they added various activities in their portfolio, including one of a kind- Founders’ Meet, Entrepreneurship Week, Talk series E Talks: Connecting the Dots, and Startup Decoded.
Founders’ Meet at IIM Rohtak was one of the most significant events that happened in the B School Network this year. The event marked the presence of fifteen Founders and Co-Founders of Unicorn Startups. It was a grandeur event that brought together such industry stalwarts on a single stage.
On being asked about managing the events online, a committee member responded, “Initially, we were also very dubious since all things are in virtual mode, work we could do as incubation service was minimal. But there’s a saying Never waste a Good Crisis. Our whole team came into action and started brainstorming about what else could be done. The core idea behind these initiatives was to boost the entrepreneurial culture in our institute and hence the society. Then we came up with ideas for a few events and started planning for their execution. One thing was in our favor; now, no guest has to visit the campus, thus making it somewhat easier to convert guests for our events. Further, this virtual model enabled us to save thousands of Rupees in conducting the events by surpassing travel and accommodation costs. We usually discuss this in our meetings; if we were to be on campus and decide to invite these many people to our campus, how difficult and demanding would it had been to manage.”
He further added, “When we posted the concluding note of the Founders Meet, we received messages from various B School’s E Cells, asking us how we were able to invite and manage these guests at our event.”
They recently conducted an Entrepreneurship Week; a whole week dedicated to various knowledge sessions to impart entrepreneurship knowledge to the attendees. The session included information on the multiple domains required to start a venture. The event saw massive participation from the audience.
Regularly, EIC conducts various talk sessions to connect the student community with some promising startups in our country. This series marked great personalities, including Mr. Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder, and CIO, Zerodha & True Beacon, Mr. Deep Kalra, Founder & CEO, MakeMyTrip.com, Mr. Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder, ShopClues & Droom to name a few.
EIC is also developing a virtual network to connect early-stage startups with mentors and investors to provide them with incubation services.
They are again coming up with their Flagship event UDAAN in January 2021, including panel discussions, workshops, and a National Level Business Plan Competition, ‘IGNITUS’ among others.