The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Tiruchi News : `Form entrepreneurship development cells'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi

`Form entrepreneurship development cells'

By R. Krishnamoorthy

TIRUCHI, FEB. 22. To infuse an entrepreneurial spirit among students in affiliated arts and science colleges, the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Career Development (IECD) of Bharathidasan University has chalked out a course of action starting with intensive orientation programmes for entrepreneurship development cell coordinators and student representatives of affiliated colleges next month.

The university has instructed colleges to form entrepreneurship development cells (EDCs) and identify motivated staff and students to participate in the programmes to be organised at the IECD, which has come up at a cost of Rs. 1.5 crores at the Khajamalai campus of the university.

The IECD would coordinate activities of EDCs based at the 90 affiliated colleges of the university, the Institute Director, K. Parthasarathy, told The Hindu .

While several colleges have started EDCs, the financial sops the university entitles to all it's 90 affiliated colleges from Central Government funding is aimed at making the rest of the colleges realise the need to set up such cells without delay.

So, the university has obtained an assurance from Madurai-based Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (Tamil Nadu), which has in its kitty funds allotted by the Centre for funding affiliated colleges in the State to start EDCs, to route funds to the extent of Rs. 11,000 per college for 30 colleges in the first phase this year.

In the next two phases spanning the next couple of years, the CED would fund the 60 remaining colleges.

The IECD has facilities such as conference and seminar halls, computer hardware, electronic equipment, home appliances, and facilities for beauty and fashion training, to generate entrepreneurial spirit among unemployed youth in villages through short-term training programmes.

It would conduct campus interviews to ensure placements for poor college students. The university expects this Institute to play a pivotal role in mitigating unemployment problem.

A highlight of the IECD's training programmes is that they would be handled by experts.

The practical component of the programmes would be high and the Institute would guide prospective entrepreneurs to start their own units at the end of the training programmes, by helping them prepare their project reports and obtaining bank loans.

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