Entrepreneurship and business innovation have been the main driving forces behind some of the breakthroughs which have created a gateway for navigating this pandemic period.  As a way of promoting this culture of innovation, Western India’s Parul University has made developing and promoting its students’ innovative ideas, one of its primary academic agendas. In response to the ever-increasing global economic, academic and medical challenges which have come about as a result of COVID-19, the University’s students have intensified their entrepreneurship strategies in pursuit of suitable solutions to these challenges. Through the efforts of its Entrepreneurship Development Cell, the University has been creating various platforms for students to develop, nurture and establish their ideas into business realities.

As a way of nurturing and developing this culture for entrepreneurship, Parul University’s  Entrepreneurship Development Cell has been playing a vital role in creating the ideal startup ecosystem within the campus. To complement the efforts of the students, the University has also been awarded grants of up to 29 Lacs from the Student Open Innovation Challenge, which has been dedicated towards upscaling 22 innovative start up projects.In addition to this, the students have also been receiving grants in various capacities and at present there are over 80 start-ups which are currently working with the University’s  Entrepreneurship Cell. A total of over 70 startups which have been established by the alumni of Parul University, have been creating a nurturing ground for the current students to learn the significance of entrepreneurship in practise. Apart from the SSIP grants the students have been working inline with the PM Yuva Yojana grants, to develop and launch their entrepreneurship projects

The cell has established ties with various partners and investors within the industry, who go on to groom and nurture the students' ideas while creating for them the opportunity to present their ideas before various potential investors. The cell goes on to play the training and skill developing role as it imparts within the students essential entrepreneurship competencies, such as project pitching, idea presentation, business portfolio development, business etiquettes, amongst others.

Parul University

Vadodara StartUp Festival 

Inline with the need to provide students with the finest exposure to entrepreneurship, Parul University has been organising a series of flagship events which have been centred on creating an innovative atmosphere within the University’s campus. One of these events include the Vadodara Start-up festival. The festival is an  idea sharing platform designed to bring together prominent business personalities, upcoming entrepreneurs and student innovators, under a common roof to discuss and explore the scope of startups in India. The first edition of Vadodara Startup festival was held earlier this yearand successfully provided a platform for over 3500 students featuring exhibitions from 67 innovative startups. 

This festival also included a series of events such as startup expo,  investor engagement sessions, startup Internship carnival, startup branding and marketing and Industry startup connect. These events provided the budding entrepreneurs of Parul University with a comprehensive knowledge  base regarding how to launch and navigate startups within India’s business ecosystem. Some of the the startup stories exhibited during this two day festival include, Briquettes Using Organic Waste Materials an alternative form of fuel used as manure in agriculture, RAYA facto a successful brand in kitchenware and general steel-ware, AR Explorer an augmented reality app which uses image detection for augmenting videos or 3D Models on Newspapers, Business Brochures and Educational Books.

Vadodara Hackathon

In addition, Parul University has also been focusing on enhancing the competencies and innovative skillsets of the students by organising a grand annual hackathon challenge known as Vadodara Hackathon. This years’ hackathon presented before the students a total of 433 ideas proposed against 150+ problems statements, which were solved by 600 students from diverse academic backgrounds and institutions across the State. This hackathon was organised in collaboration with SSIP, GESIA, FIG, Smart India Hackathon (MHRD), VCCI, VIC, GIC, MIC and IIC, who worked together with the University’s entrepreneurship development cell to create this ideal ecosystem of innovation. The students developed their start-up ideas based on various themes which include, Smart Communication, Healthcare & Biomedical devices, Agriculture and Rural Development Smart Vehicles, Food Processing, Clean water and Renewable Energy. 

To provide a way for motivating the students, this occasion was graced by some of the most prominent personalities in the industrial and public sectors. Present as  the chief guest of the ceremony, was Shri Shailendra Jaiswal, Principal Executives Director Defence Research DRDO Ministry of Defence, Indian Railway Service, along with Shri Manohar Chawla, President, Federation of Gujarat Industries(FGI) and Shri Maulik Bhansali, Director & Chairman, GESIA. As the guests of honor, the occasion was graced by Shri Nitesh Patel, Secretary General, FGI, Shri Dhruv Patel, MD, Redspark Technology, Director & Chairman Vadodara Chapter, GESIA and Shri Nikhil Suthar, Officer on Special Duty, GIC, Regional Coordinator, GTU.

WE Women Start Up Meet - Empowering Women in Entrepreneurships

As a way of encouraging the active engagement of women within the entrepreneurship domain, the University has also been organising a specific female centric start up event, which celebrates and inspires young girls and women to engage in entrepreneurship. “WE, Women’s Start-up Meet” is a two day festival host which hosts some of India’s most renowned female icons and business personalities. This year’s event hosted personalities such as Ms Anar Patel, Ms Falguni Vasad-Oza, Ms Ruzan Khambatta, Ms Ashu Manchandana and  Miss Ms Pooja Desai. The start-up meet also featured panel discussions, where the speakers discussed various topics such as the significance of entrepreneurship and key strategies to becoming an entrepreneur. In addition to its focus on the business sector, the event also focused on the aspect of women empowerment and how young girls can shape their business ideas into realities.

The event also went on to act as a platform for honouring some of the women whose work in the start-up community has made an impact on India’s socio-economic landscape through awards and facilitations. The start-up meet also featured panel discussion, where the speakers discussed various topics such as the significance of entrepreneurship and key strategies to becoming an entrepreneur.

Young Entrepreneurship Exchange Program

The Young Entrepreneurship Exchange Program is a start and innovation based program which is organised jointly by Parul University and Switzerland based Bern University of Applied Sciences. This annual program has hosted over 50 students in the past 4 years who have been actively participating in various collaborative entrepreneurship projects. The program has been hosting students from various countries across the globe such as Czech Republic, Switzerland, Africa and India who come together to share and develop business ideas on various levels. 

The program is designed to enhance the Indian scope of entrepreneurship by creating a global platform where students from various European countries take part in the sharing of innovative ideas with the students of India. This 3 week program has presented students each year with the chance to work under the mentorship of business experts in various industries, it also goes on to present the participating students with the opportunity to present their ideas before various investors. In the past years the students have worked on various projects ideas such as an advanced child sensor, smart chair traveling solution, an automatic wall painting machine, a food everyday virtual platform and an online agricultural market place