INVENT Social Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme
IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) in association with Rotary Club of Calcutta Renaissance – RI District 3291, conducted the INVENT Social Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme on the 11th of June’2017 at Rotary Sadan – Kolkata.
The primary objective of this event was to build awareness on social entrepreneurship, generate interest and inspire the young generation to come up with innovative solutions to social challenges.
The event began with an opening address by Mr. Chirabrata Mazumdar, President- Rotary Club of Calcutta Renaissance. Mr Gaurav Kapoor, Head- INVENT (IIMCIP) presented a talk on social entrepreneurship. This was followed by a panel discussion on ‘Journey of Social Entrepreneur- its Challenges’. The panelist comprised of F&B company owner, Debayan Biswas from North Bengal speaking on his venture MOMOS on Wheels; Prof Somprakash Bandyopadhyay, Mentor of ‘NexConnect Venture’; and Mr Sandip Datta, Senior representative from ‘IKure’.
The audience were highly engaged in the programme and actively participated in the same.
Workshop on Managing Innovation in Small Businesses
The 4-day workshop on Managing Innovation in Small Businesses, started on the 31st of May’ 2017 with 15 participants from different parts of the country.
The programme delved into not only theoretical concepts but also practical tools and techniques to help participants generate innovative product/service ideas, validate them and manage their product development process. It included Experiential Learning Methodology (ELM) using a blend of classroom lectures, presentations, case studies, group discussions and hands-on exercises.
The participants were at the beginning given an opportunity to speak about their existing business model and share the challenges they are facing. Through the span of next three days participants were exposed to the different facets of innovation & entrepreneurship-Innovation Basics, Customer value propositions, Ideation Technique, Design Thinking, Marketing and Branding, Business Model Canvas, Financing Essentials and Presentation Skills.
On the last day the teams presented their business models based on their learning, after being given hands-on experience on how to bring innovation in their existing ventures.
The workshop particularly assisted Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) not only to find the ‘right idea’ to grow their business but also to improve their overall innovativeness.