The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT-H) has announced a minor in entrepreneurship in its B.Tech curriculum, to instil entrepreneurial spirit in students. The programme will equip students with entrepreneurship competency, business acumen and entrepreneurial vision needed to become job creators.
Available to students from the third year, the programme is spread over two years and consists of 12 credits. The programme begins with a one credit course on Introduction to Business Planning in the first semester. There are nine more courses with one credit each spread over four semesters. One three-credit course is on business plan development, to be completed through project work and may require field visits.
The programme will be taught by faculty members, serial entrepreneurs, leaders from successful start-s , and senior industry stalwarts who provide practical knowledge and guidance that students need to start and run a new business.
"Of all the student clubs, the E-cell (entrepreneurship cell), was very famous with the students. Given the interest among students, we decided to formalise this entrepreneurship course as a minor. We also have plans to set up a full-fledged incubator to provide the space, guidance, and environment to groom our students into entrepreneurs", said Professor Faiz, Dean of Academic Programmes.
Students will learn to identify when and how to seize opportunities, understand the challenges of financing, the pitfalls to avoid, and how to grow their business during the programme. They will also be given opportunities to network and socialise with professionals and successful entrepreneurs.