Relevance of Entrepreneurship Development through E-Cells in Business Studies and Technical Education

Abstract

The new economic environment had triggered changes in Government policies, technology innovations which in turn have drastically changed consumer behaviour and perception towards products and services. These have created enormous opportunities for spurting new ventures, services contributing to the economic growth of our nation. Although the private sector in India is booming, the number of jobs created remained far short of what is required to provide adequate employment for management and technically trained students passing out from Business Schools and other technical institutions. In the last decade or so we have witnessed a sudden growth in the number of Business Schools and technical institutes throughout the country and employment generation for the “to be professionals” had become a daunting task for the educators, trainers and management consultants. On the other hand, organizations who had been complaining of their financial limitations had found it difficult to hire students within strict HR budgets. In this context, top institutes of the nation like the IIMs, IITs, NITs and particularly noted Business Schools had found the importance of entrepreneurship cells in their campus as a strategic need. Professional organizations and institutes like National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI) had played amajor role tomotivate students and faculties in promoting entrepreneurial awareness and development of entrepreneurial capabilities in students and budding entrepreneurs across the nation. This paper aims to discuss the relevance, opportunities, benefits, developmental perspectives and issues hindering the growth and development of entrepreneurship cells (e-cells) in business studies and technical education. The paper also discusses and presents a staircase model for e-cell development that may act as a reference and guideline for budding e-cells, trainers/faculties and institutes encouraging students to take up entrepreneurship as a major study.