The Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at IIM Calcutta, in association with SIDBI and National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), organized the Second Annual Entrepreneurship Summit on 24 January 2009 at the IIM Calcutta campus. Eminent speakers from the industry and academia came together for the discussion. The event saw participation from more than 500 management students and budding entrepreneurs.

The topics for the discussion were-

The keynote discussion was lead by Mr. Sanjeev Bhikhchandani (Founder and CEO, naukri.com) and Mr. Kunwer Sachdev (CEO, Sukam). Both talked about entrepreneurship as a way of life, the forces that kept them going and the parameters by which they judged their achievements. After the discussion the speakers gladly fielded questions from the enthusiastic audience.

Mr. Sharath Babu talked about his dream of a world without hunger, which drives him towards entrepreneurship more than anything else. Mr. Bikram Dasgupta elaborated on the dynamics of transition from one generation to the next in a family business. Mr. Abhishek Rungta talked about the importance and benefits of involving family in business matters.

The corporate entrepreneurship talk was punctuated with the example of the Tata Nano project and how the great size and managerial efficiency of Tata Motors helped them successfully pursue the gargantuan task of developing the least expensive car in the world.

Mr. Kunwer Sachdev and Mr. Rajiv Mantri discussed about the incentives of taking business abroad and about the comparative advantages and disadvantages of Indian companies to their foreign counterparts. In essence the panel felt that Indian companies could produce the highest grade of goods and be more successful with greater government support. Citing his own example, Mr. Sachdev said that although there are problems facing Indian businessmen but none were big enough to stop people from making profitable and productive enterprises.

Another highlight of the summit was the entrepreneur quiz conducted by Prof. Anjan Raichaudhuri. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Ms.Rati Gugnani, student president, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, IIM-Calcutta.

The Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) at IIMC is an initiative to achieve greater understanding of this process as well as stimulate its development for societal benefit. Its vision is to be acknowledged as a centre of international renown, where students, faculty, alumni, industry and policy makers collaborate, learn and innovate. The team comprises of faculty from different functional areas and disciplines. The Centre is currently led by Prof. Anjan Raichaudhri and headed by a core team of student representatives.

1. bentiminc Says:
   April 13th, 2009 at 4:25 pm

   You cannot flay the same ox twice.
   Easy come, easy go.