E-Cell IIT Bombay, one of the oldest and most prestigious entrepreneurship cell of India with the legacy of more than 20 years has been able to develop and change the startup ecosystem of its institute drastically to a large amount which in turn has lead to the creation of many successful entrepreneurs like Bhavish Aggarwal (Founder of Ola Cabs) , Zishaan Hayath and Hemanth Goteti (Founder of toppr.com) to name a few.IIT-Bombay boasts of a thriving startup ecosystem, especially because of active support groups such as E-Cell and the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) — a model that many educational institutes and the All India Council for Technical Education are trying to emulate. While the E-Cell works to spread awareness through workshops and speaker sessions, the SINE is an incubator that mentors startups. “It is a synergy of the two groups that has worked best”
Winning Moment at IIT Bombay
In its quest of helping the other institutes of India to establish there E-Cell and make it sustainable, E-Cell IIT Bombay launched its initiative named NEC also called as National Entrepreneurship Challenge where institutes from various parts of India not having an active entrepreneurship cell apply for the Basic Track while those having an active entrepreneurship cell apply for the advanced track. In this 6 month long competition of 3 leaderboards where the participating institutes have to complete various tasks assigned by the E-Cell IIT Bombay in various stages so as to develop its E-Cell and hence points are allotted as per the efficiency of completed tasks. Over 750 colleges including new IIT’s, NIT’s and various government and centrally funded institutes participate in this national level competition which has prizes of around 6 lakhs every year.
E-Cell KITCoEK students organization was formed in the year 2018 on 20th March under the leadership of Satyam Bhosale (B.E – Civil) with the motto of participating in Basic Track of NEC and inculcating the skills of entrepreneurship among the students. The initial team consisted of only 21 members from the last, third and second year of study. The NEC competition began by 20th August 2018 where the tasks were allotted to the team to be completed within the deadlines. The initial task included forming a new committee structure, creating a new website, assigning faculty adviser, organizing seminars etc. E-Cell KITCoEK secured 5th rank in the first leaderboard of NEC among 750 colleges from all over India surpassing colleges like Government College of Engineering, Karad hence securing 1st rank at Shivaji University level while it secured 2nd rank in second and third leaderboards consequently. Illuminate 2018 – The National Level Business and Entrepreneurship workshop ,one of the flagship events of E-Cell KITCoEK was conducted for first time in KITs College of Engineering (Autonomous), Kolhapur in association with E-Cell IIT Bombay.
Team E-Cell KITCoEK at IIT Bombay for NEC Finals
We were pleased to have Mr. Ninad Karpe, Ex-Chairman of CII and Mr. Kaustav Majumdar, Head of Startups at SPJIMER from one of the leading Business schools of India for Expert Lecture Series. Startup Unscripted 1.0 initiative of identifying the local startups and interacting with them helped our team in getting insights into the entrepreneurship world followed by quiz and debate competitions. E-Cell KITCoEK team was among top 20 teams to be invited in NEC Final round at IIT Bombay during E-Summit 2019 on 19th and 20th January 2019. The final round consisted of two rounds of competitions followed by a final team presentation of 7 minutes in front of an expert panel. Among 750 colleges from all over India, E-Cell KITCoEK was declared as the runner up at the valedictory function of E-Summit 2019 – Asia’s Largest Entrepreneurship Conclave in front of a crowd of 3000 people and the whopping prize money worth Rs1 Lakh was also declared to the team.
Currently, we at the Entrepreneurship Cell KITCoEK, share the common belief that for India to emerge as a world power, the youth has to break the shackles of prejudices and inertia that has kept them from starting up. Creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem to provide the platform for individuals with creative minds and ideas with potential for substantial business opportunities, is what we will strive towards continually. We will enable smooth and efficient interaction between its principal components spanning students, faculty, working professionals, aspiring and existing entrepreneurs, mentors, angel investors and venture capitalists.
Team E-Cell KITCoEK 2018-2019 with Board of Directors