Rajasthan Government offers young student entrepreneurs a chance to visit Silicon Valley, learn from startup experts

The Rajasthan Student Startup Programme will take the top 100 college students with the best innovative technology solutions on a trip to Silicon Valleym including more than 30 girls.

Known for its vibrant energy and culture, and as a preferred destination for travelers from all across the world, Rajasthan has also been transforming the business landscape in the state to boost young entrepreneurs as well.

The state government has launched a first-of-its-kind initiative to nurture aspiring student entrepreneurs under the Rajasthan Student Startup Exposure programme. The initiative aims to give college students an opportunity to build innovative tech solutions for real life problems; and a few of them will even get to travel to global startup capital Silicon Valley for a two-week residential programme.

The programme has been conceptualised by the Department of Information Technology & Communication to create a pipeline of young entrepreneurs in the state. It draws upon the vision of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje to provide opportunities to the youth to set up own startups, and participate in the growth journey of the state, while learning from some of the world’s best startup professionals.

Up to 100 students will be selected for an all-expenses paid trip to the US where they will be hosted at Menlo College in Menlo Park, Silicon Valley. Over the course of two weeks, they will learn various aspects of building a tech product startup from renowned experts in the global startup ecosystem.

The participants will work on building their idea into prototype products and will also get to pitch their ideas to prospective customers and investors in Silicon Valley for feedback. In addition, the participants will visit various organisations in the Silicon Valley startup ecosystem, and interact with successful founders and other key professionals.

Any student from any college in Rajasthan is eligible to apply.

Applications are now open. Click here to know more and apply. Hurry, since the deadline is May 20.

The rigorous selection process will involve two rounds of selection interviews, including a Skype / video interview, and those shortlisted further will be invited for an in-person interview in Jaipur. In the final round, teams will be asked to pitch an idea, either their own or one selected from a list of ideas given to them.

While giving credence to the performance in the interviews, the selection panel will also evaluate the aspiration of the candidates, team capability and the quality of presentation. Weightage will be given to past projects, teams with developers, those who have participated in entrepreneurship events or similar activities in their colleges and communities, those with open source contributions, volunteering experience and participation in tech communities like GDG, etc.

Priority will be given to teams or individuals who have taken up startup ideas in the past and got till the prototype stage. Preference will also be given to women applicants and teams with women members.

The inaugural edition of the residential incubation program will be held in Silicon Valley from July 10 to July 28, 2018.

Those interested can apply individually or in teams of a maximum of four members. Team applications will be given preference. Those who are not selected can also learn from the programme as they will get a three-month access to an online learning course, the contents of which will be the same as that offered to the teams selected for the Silicon Valley residential incubation programme. 

Click here for FAQs, programme details, and to apply. The last date to apply is May 20.