Month: May 2014

Life Of Pi – An epic for an entrepreneur

We once heard a six year old kid asking his father, “How come the small boat didn’t drown and the big ship drowned in seconds?” This was in context to the movie Life Of Pi.

Did this question strike your mind?

We were inspired by the conversation and decided to analyze the movie with an entrepreneurial perspective to see what we can come up with.

The younger generation these days is far more creative and curious. They want to learn new things each day & if they are not able to, it frustrates them.  All they want to do is learn, make mistakes & be perfect in the end. May it be building a Lego house.

Aren’t these traits similar to that of an aspiring entrepreneur?

We can learn some entrepreneurial lessons from Life Of Pi. The main character Pi, pretty much depicts a young entrepreneur struggling hard for success. Let’s see what the film has taught us:

1. If you believe in everything, you will end up not believing in anything at all

Pi’s father told him this once on the dining table. For an entrepreneur, pursuing a lot of things at one time often leads to quick burnouts. Focus on what you are best at and work on it. No one can keep you from succeeding.

 2. Brand yourself well

Remember how Pi goes around with individuals and then groups of students to make them understand the real meaning of Pi after he was teased by them? It’s important to get your image right in the market to avoid difficulties in the long run. Make sure you reach the right people at the right time and convey to them your real identity & work.

 3. Planning is not optional

When Pi was in the lifeboat with limited resources and a Bengal Tiger to handle, he got his hands on a handbook with instructions. Similarly, for an entrepreneur, referring to the handbook and planning accordingly is very important. List out the essentials, make a to-do list and follow it to make your work well organized and less confusing.

 4. Putting all your eggs in one basket might not be a wise decision

Pi learned a lesson when he took along all the life supplies to the makeshift raft and a whale upturned it throwing all the supplies in the water. That is when he realized that staying with the Tiger might just be a wise thing to do. While starting up, resources are typically scarce and it’s important to guard them and stop losses. It’s good to have one secure base. Entering unknown territories without adequate research could be a deadly mistake, few startups can afford.

 5. Learn to co-exist

Pi went through a lot until he finally accepted that he had to go through this journey with the tiger. It is always good to learn to co-exist from the beginning for an entrepreneur. Co-exist with your co-founder as well as with the competition in the market. Co-existence will teach you patience & make you realize where you are going wrong.

 6. Giving up is not on the list

Never ever think of giving up no matter what the situation may be. Pi did not give up, did he? Ocean, boat, limited life supplies and a tiger to survive with. He strived hard to get it right and he did. Hardwork will always show results. The journey of entrepreneurship brings along with it a lot of difficulties. But you are not here to quit. You are here to survive and succeed.

Would you like to add to the points? Your inputs are welcomed.

PGDM-BE Programme | Learning Model & Program Structure

EDI’s PGDM-BE offers an exceptional learning model to make it easier for students to understand the crux of entrepreneurship.

The programme is designed to develop a strong base for entrepreneurial and management skills. These critical tools will help the participants face any challenge in their career.

EDI places a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship as a means to creating value for organizations and the development of leadership competencies. The methodology adopted at EDI varies according to various subject’s objectives and the skills, attitudes and behavioural patterns to be fostered. Though classroom theory is important for acquiring management knowledge but there is no substitute for practice in order to ingrain the entrepreneurial decision making skills. To this end, the pedagogy includes case study discussions, simulation games, teamwork, tutorials and role-play exercises, among other activities. The students are given opportunities to interact, challenge points of view and discuss business situations on an academic platform. One of our key strengths is the degree of personalized mentor provided to each participant.

The course is offered through six trimesters over the two years period. The course offers induction module, core courses, electives, audited courses, seminar courses, independent study and projects apart from summer internship at the end of Ist year.

 

Structure of Program

1. Orientation

Before the commencement of the course, a 2 week orientation program is designed for the students who focus at—

  • Entrepreneur Interactions and Learning
  • Entrepreneurial Career and Aspirations (Statement of Purpose)
  • Optional Preparatory Courses: Mathematics/ Computer Applications / English/ Business Basics

2. Core Courses

The curriculum provides a strong grounding in managerial fundamentals while highlighting the strategic role that entrepreneurial mindset plays in enhancing business performance and creating sustainable competitive advantage. Throughout the trimester, these courses are offered in core areas which are having relationship with real business issues through case studies and projects that cover different company stages, sizes, industry and international contexts. These courses mostly cover-

  • Entrepreneurship
  • Accounting and Financial Management
  • Operations and Systems
  • Marketing management
  • General and Strategic management
  • Individual and Organisation behaviour
  • Business Economics and International Trade
  • Written analysis and Communication

3. Course Architecture

First Year Courses:

Trimester I
Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice Managerial Accounting and Control-I
Micro Economics Quantitative Techniques -I
Business Communication Organization Behaviour
Principles of Management Exploring Business Opportunities
Trimester II
Entrepreneurial Lab Managerial Accounting and Control-II
Macro Economics Quantitative Techniques -II
Marketing Management -I Human Resource Management
Financial Management -I Seminar Course
Trimester III
Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Doing Business with Government and Public Sector
Management Information System Research Methodology and Applications
Marketing Management -II Operations Management
Financial Management -II Seminar Courses

 

4. Seminar Courses:

The seminar courses are designed to provide in-depth understanding of various sectors where the student want to associate in future. These first-year seminars are taught by EDI faculty in association with various industry experts and consultants. Seminar faculty often serves as informal mentors for their students long after the class has ended.

  1. Agri-business
  2.  Automobiles and Ancillaries
  3. Communication and Media
  4. Design and Fashion
  5. Education and Training
  6. Electricals and Electronics
  7. Mechanical Engineering
  8. Entertainment
  9. Environment and Green Business
  10. Financial Services
  11. Food Processing
  12. Healthcare and Lifesciences
  13. Information Technology Enabled Services
  14. Infrastructure
  15. Logistics and Supply Chain
  16. Plastics and Chemicals
  17. Real Estate and Construction
  18. SME Consultancy
  19. Textiles and Garments
  20. Tourism and Hospitality

Second Year Courses:

Trimester IV
Entrepreneurial Effectiveness Business Legislation and Taxation
Business Environment Strategic Management
Electives  1 Electives  2
Electives  3 Electives  4
Trimester V
Project/Growth Feasibility-I Electives 5
Electives 6 Electives 7
Electives 8 Electives 9
Electives 10
Trimester VI
Project/Growth Feasibility-II Electives 11
Electives 12 Electives 13
Electives 14

 

Get details about other areas of this course here  : http://bit.ly/19vWJjT

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Summer Camps at EDI

Despite being intellectually more sound, well-informed and career-conscious, today’s youth often lack the qualities that make a person, enterprising. The need, therefore, is to create awareness to inculcate in them, the values of creativity, excellence, innovation, leadership and independence. It is assumed that these values will inspire them to select an independent innovative career option and excel in chosen career.

With this objective, EDI has been regularly organizing well thought of, residential camps for youth and children.

Camp on Entrepreneurial Adventures for Youth (Age group 16-22 years).

The Institute has been successfully organising ‘YOUTH CAMPS’ during summer vacation to facilitate the development of the entrepreneurial personality of youth. ‘Summer Camp on Entrepreneurial Adventures for the Youth’ has successfully inspired and motivated a number of youth from the country. The camps are open for those studying in Higher Secondary or Colleges in any discipline.

The specific objectives of the camp are to : (i) enable them to realize their latent potential and develop their capabilities to meet the challenges ahead; (ii) counsel and motivate them to seek independent, innovative and challenging career options; (iii) foster entrepreneurial traits including creativity, concern for excellence, leadership, problem solving, etc.; (iv) establish a forum of the participants for networking and to fruitfully utilize such interactions in future entrepreneurial ventures; and (v) provide them with an opportunity to interact extensively in formal and informal settings, with well-known entrepreneurs and achievers.

Consistent with the objectives, the camp focuses on : (i) entrepreneurial motivation development exercises; (ii) evaluation and development of entrepreneurial traits and competencies; (iii) visits to institutions of repute to analyze the process of creation; (iv) exposure to potential opportunities existing in industry and other occupation; (v) self-assessment through specifically designed psychometric tests and instruments; (vi) career and psychological counselling; and (vii) formal and informal interaction with successful entrepreneurs and achievers.

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Objective of this camp is to make the youth realize their hidden potential and develop their capabilities to meet the challenges ahead by acquiring entrepreneurial traits of risk taking, creative thinking, conflict management, effective communication, teamwork and managing one’s emotions.

Dates : 12-21 May and 02-11 June, 2014

Find out more about the Youth Camp here : http://www.ediindia.org/doc/Youth_Camp.pdf

Camp on Entrepreneurial stimulation for Children (Age group of 12 – 16 years)

Children are the building blocks of any country. In a country like India, the need to sharpen the intellect of the children of today and orient them towards higher order achievements is strongly felt. In order to inculcate the spirit of enterprise and achievement among children at a tender age, EDI has designed a week long training camp which focuses on activities like motivation and creativity exercises, puzzles/ riddles, value education through specifically culled out anecdotes and stories, presentations, industrial visits, and interaction with successful entrepreneurs and achievers. The camp has been extremely successful in developing confidence and instilling positive thinking among participants.

The salient features of the camp, which started in 1994, include a ‘Parents’ Meet’, friendly interactions with well-known achievers from different fields, focus on Yoga etc. Though children from different states participate, language is not a problem for them as it focuses mainly on activities.

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Objective of this camp is to inculcate the ‘Spirit of Enterprise and Achievement’ in children so that they target higher-order achievements.

Dates : 04-09 May and 25-30 May, 2014

Find out more about the Children’s camp here : http://www.ediindia.org/doc/Children_Camp.pdf

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Fellow Programme in Management (FPM)

Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI) announces ‘Fellow Programme in

Management’ (FPM), duly approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi from the academic year 2014-15. Considered as a doctoral programme, FPM would commence at EDI in July 2014 as a full-time programme.

The Programme:

The country needs entrepreneurs to lead the economic development and opportunities for job creation; it is prudent that there are structured academic programs of stature to create scholars and thought leaders in entrepreneurship education and research. EDI, therefore, proposes distinguished ‘Fellow Programme in Management’ with emphasis on Entrepreneurship. The programme intends at contributing to the field of knowledge in management & entrepreneurship and extending the same to a chosen field. Accordingly, FPM proposes of two phases over four years. The first phase of the programe would comprise course-work involving Fellow programme level courses followed by a comprehensive qualifying examination while the second phase would consist of Thesis work involving preparation of a Thesis proposal, conducting research stated in the proposal, Thesis development and its examination. However, The Institute would adhere to the norms set by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi for FPM.

The course will be a premier source of rigorous and inter-disciplinary research in major areas of Entrepreneurship & Management like, Entrepreneurship Education and Research; Innovation, Incubation, Clusters and Technology Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurial Finance and Control; Entrepreneurial Marketing; Organisation Behaviour and Human Resources; Minority, Tribal and Dalit Entrepreneurship; Enterprise Creation and Growth; Family Business Management; Law, Policy and Governance; International Entrepreneurship and Women Entrepreneurship, etc.

The FPM at EDI aims at preparing exceptional scholars who will address the policy and practices, challenges associated with management and entrepreneurship. The programme will be offered with following broader objectives:

– To groom researchers and make them competent and innovative inter-disciplinary high calibre scholars and educators in various facets of management and entrepreneurship;

-To investigate synergy between theory and practice of entrepreneurship as relevant to the context; and accordingly strengthen entrepreneurship education and research ecosystem in the country.

-To motivate researchers in conducting theoretical and empirical studies leading to policy papers and publications in scholarly journals/ books.

Eligibility, Qualification and Selection Criteria:

FPM seeks candidates with outstanding academic background, intellectual curiosity and discipline needed to make scholarly contribution. The Institute looks for candidates with brilliance and strong desire to be the part of the academia/ industry/ research/consultancy, etc.

The Applicant must have two years’ Master’s/Post graduate degree in any discipline with minimum 55% or CA/CS/CMA with minimum 55% marks (50% for SC/ST candidates) and a three-year Bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks (from a university recognized by UGC/AIU/AICTE/ appropriate authority in India) in the aggregate obtained after completing higher secondary education (10+2) or equivalent.

The Selection of candidate in the FPM is based on scores in CAT/GMAT/UGC-NET & JRF (in faculty of science and technology, humanities, social sciences, commerce, liberal studies, management, etc. as decided by appropriate authority), as applicable, and/or Entrepreneurship Research Aptitude Test (ERAT) of EDI. The candidates with relevant work experience will get preference in admission. The applicants will be interviewed at EDI in person.

Fee and Fellowship Support:

The fee and related details would be available on request. The Institute also has a provision of providing financial and infrastructural support to selected and deserving candidates which covers stipend and contingency, tuition fee, library, teaching material, examination fee, etc.

For more details on the course, visit : http://www.ediindia.ac.in/Doc/FPM-announcement.pdf

For further information on FPM, interested candidates should contact:

Sunil Shukla, Ph.D.

Professor and In-Charge (FPM)

Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India

Bhat, Gandhinagar 382 428

Gujarat

Phone: 079-23969163

sunilshukla@ediindia.org

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Token of Thanks from Gold Medalists of EDI

15th Convocation of EDI’s Post Graduate Diploma Programmes took place on 19th April, 2014. Honorable Chief Guest for the evening, Mr. GM Rao gave an inspiring speech to the students and motivated them to keep their desire for becoming an Entrepreneur alive to achieve success.

 

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Tania Rauth received a Gold Medal in Services Management. This is what she has to say about her wonderful EDI journey & achievement :

“Two years of sweat work, patience & lots of experiential learning made my Gold Medal in Services Management and highest CGPA in the batch possible. I sincerely thank my Gurudev (Jai baba swami), faculty members, batch-mates who showered their confidence and love by selecting me as their Class Representative for 2 years continuously,my juniors. Thank you EDI and all those who believed that ‘i cannot’ as they challenged and motivated me to achieve my best. So this is just the beginning.”

-Tania Rauth, Gold Medalist in Services Management

 

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Harsh Dave achieved a Gold Medal in Family Business in Management. This is what he has to say about his achievement & experience at EDI :

“Finally,Gold Medal for Scholastic performance in Family Business Management Belongs to Me!

Finally the rush for the ultimate achievement in academics comes to an end! The journey from a student who was every year “passed and promoted” to a student of good repute and Medal holder, was fantastic. Achieved a lot in these 2 years apart from the the gold medal and the degree. It were the super cool seniors, best of the best batch-mates and wonderful and fun loving juniors. The campus life and Ediots will always be missed forever.

Thank you EDI. Thanks a lot juniors and thanks a lot batch-mates.”

-Harsh Dave, Gold Medalist in Family Business Management

 

Harsh Dave’s father, who was overwhelemed with his son’s achievement & success as a student of EDI, sent EDI a review.

He says,

“Dear Prof. Sunil Shukla

Hello!

Well, if I talk about Harsh, my son, he was an introvert during his school days. As a student of Best High School, Maninagar, he avoided attending majority of the classes and was annually promoted to the next higher class.

Subsequently, when we moved from Maninagar to S.G. Highway Harsh was admitted to Hiramani Higher Secondary School, where he not only continued clearing annual examinations but also got interested in varied sports as well as martial arts. Gradually, he transformed into an active Short Put and Volleyball player. He also represented, Ahmedabad District Judo team, consecutively for two years.

The X class brought a significant change in Harsh’s academic performance. When the board results were declared we received a pleasant surprise; Harsh had secured 74 % marks in the examination. This was absolutely unexpected!

Earlier, Harsh was least interested in academic studies. However, the love and respect gained from friends, family and acquaintances on securing achieving 74 % in X class made him realize the significance of good academic performance for leading a decent, successful life and hence he started taking studies seriously. He was quite clear about his desire and often used to say: “I want to do something which is practical, apart from this history and social science work.” In the XII class Harsh opted for Commerce stream and began learning as well as exploring his academic life on his own. He was working so hard that even the School Management expected him to emerge as one of the leading board rankers. But Harsh could not find his place among the board rankers. Even at the school level he stood II (with a difference of mere 1 mark); the School Principal commented: “Harsh, no one remembers who stood II in exam; you are going to remember this difference of mere 1 mark for your life time.” This somehow motivated Harsh and he turned-up to me and said “Dad, now things will be in my favour, just watch how I perform!” And Harsh started pursuing his studies with zeal and worked really hard during his initial years of B.B.A. His dedicated and focused efforts ensured that irrespective of the nature of examination he would be placed among the top rankers. He also stood fifth at University level.

Unfortunately, at his final year of B.B.A. Harsh could not secure the first rank and stood second. But this made him even more passionate as he realized the importance of maintaining consistency in performance rather than being complacent with mere one time achievement.

As a student of EDI’s Post Graduate Diploma in Management – Business Entrepreneurship (PGDM-BE), Harsh’s performance had been quite good; thanks to the conducive environment of EDI campus, ever helpful Faculty and Staff members as well as the commendable leadership of the PGP Chairperson as well as the Institute Director. The PGDM-BE programme groomed Harsh to enable him in fulfilling his dreams. Harsh remarked beamingly: “EDI, is one of the best place for people looking for a practical approach, especially in entrepreneurship education”. The individual attention towards students from well experienced faculty members along with a properly designed course structure of the programme completely transformed Harsh into an extrovert, encouraging him to fulfill his desires and dreams.

Just as Harsh, I also will be unable to forget these two years that he underwent at EDI. When Harsh bagged a Gold Medal in Family Business Management at EDI, he made me feel happy and proud about his achievements!

I heartily thank Director-EDI, Chairperson (PGPs) and all Faculty as well as Staff members for grooming and supporting my son in accomplishing his career goal.

With regards,

Ulhas Dave”

EDI is a platform that not only creates entrepreneurs, but also transforms an individual to face the challenges in their coming journey. We are proud to have students like them who work hard to keep their dreams alive.

EDI wishes All The Best to the passed out students of PGDM-BE for a great future ahead.

The PGDM-BE programme is available for online application. Apply here : http://bit.ly/1aqUE75 | More info on the course : http://bit.ly/19vWJjT

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