IIT Khargpur: Entrepreneurship Week and Summit '09

The week burst onto the limelight with the inspirational lecture by Dominique Trempont and SramanaMitra on the 2nd of January. A packed Netaji auditorium was witness to two charismatic entrepreneurs sharing their ideas and opinions on the entrepreneurial scene in India, and how we as students can make a difference. We broke new grounds with the inaugural Kolkata Barcamp, on the 3rd ofJanuary. Braving a depressing taxi and auto strike, participants from all over the country made the event a grand success,energizing our conviction to carry the initiative further in the years to come.

Entrepreneurship Cell's presentation on the ongoing entrepreneurial activities and startup successes in our campus at the Annual Alumni Meet drew unprecedented appreciation from our distinguished alumni. The EBRF conference held on the 8th of January threw up the relevant issue of clean technology. The presence of distinguished guests Dr. Marco Seppa of the University of Jykysvala , Finland and the enigmatic Prof Dhrubes Biswas of IIT Khrargpur made the event and enlightening and meaningful one for the students.

The sense of energy, enterprise and excitement among the student community was palpable amidst the flurry of events leading up to the summit. Finally the moment that we had all been waiting for arrived. Esummit 09 kickstarted with the unforgettable lecture by Mr. Sanjeev Bhikchandani, CEO & Founder, Naukri.com. This was followed by two workshops ,one by CII and the other by Intel. While the CII one focused on the current entrepreneurial scenario in India , the Intel workshop addressed the "design productivity gap" issue facing the electronics industry today. The opening day came to an eventful end with the lecture by Mr. Raja Manickum, CEO & Founder, TESSOLVE.

The final day unfolded with the informative workshop on the "Role of Analytics in Banking and Credit Risk Management" by Fractal Analytics. It opened up the intriguing field of Analytics before the students, to help them understand and use it. We had Mr. Mukul Bhatia, MD Citec Engineering Pvt Ltd, giving a talk on B Plans, economic appraisals, and the dynamics of VC funding. The summit drew to a close with the one-of-its-kind Startup Camp wherein startups from IIT Kgp as well as outside were provided a platform to interact with the students and answer their doubts and queries relating to working in a startup. The event was a huge success with students jostling for space even at the staircases at Vikramshila.

Away from the public eye, we had the final rounds of our flagship events Envision, Eclairez and Pensez being held at the RGSOIPL. The Envision top 3 winners came up with innovative products designs, two of which have been recommended for TEPP funding. Eclairez proved to be the platform for next generation social entrepreneurs, with business ideas related to waste disposal management, and cheaper sanitation for tourists, being brought up. Pensez tested the analytical skills of the participating teams with the case study on web based technology turning out to be atough nut to crack.

This was a year of many firsts in the history of Esummit, with the Innovation camp being organized specifically for the first year students on the 7th of January. We organised REDE, IIT Khargpur's first national parliamentary debate which attracted participation from 18 teams all over the country, and remarkably one from Bangladesh as well! Negocio, the web based Bplan competition, threw up ingenious business ideas in the realm of the web world. Finally, the first years were given a taste of real time entrepreneurship, in the widely appreciated BIZTURKZ competition.