EDII’s milestone-based learning pedagogy strives to build an entrepreneurial nation, both economically and socially
Bhubaneswar: Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad, an acknowledged national resource Institute for Entrepreneurship Education, Research, Training and Institution Building, has enabled over 300 of its students to become successful entrepreneurs. The courses have also enabled building of a brigade of young development professionals in the country, who are transforming the social landscape. Through its two unique flagship programmes – Post Graduate Diploma in Business Entrepreneurship Management and Post Graduate Diploma in Development Studies – the Institute has been playing a vital role in inspiring youngsters to take up entrepreneurship as a career.
EDII’s unique two-year PGDM in Business Entrepreneurship (PGDM-BE) offers an innovative milestone-based learning initiative, whereby every student can build his/her new enterprise step by step during the pursuit of the course. Of the 427 students who have graduated EDII’s PGDM-BE programme since 2008-10 batch, around 337 have either set up their own enterprises or have joined their family businesses. The remaining 20 per cent have gone for a service career so as to gain experience before venturing into the corporate sector or have engaged in further studies.
Explaining the milestone-based learning initiative offered by the Institute, Dr Satya Acharya, Associate Senior Faculty at EDII said, “Milestone-based learning is introduced for students to enable them to get practical exposure to every minute step that is required in setting up a new business, even while they are pursuing their studies at EDII. Right from ideating, preparing a business plan to forming and registering a new company and then running the enterprise and managing its various functions viz. marketing, finance, product/service development, etc, the Institute is involved. EDII also provides seed funding to successful milestone bonus point achievers for setting up their new ventures.”
Dr Acharya, who heads the PGDM-BE programme, added, “This course ensures that students harness their entrepreneurial knowledge, networking skills and abilities in setting up own enterprises or while joining their family businesses take them to newer heights.”
EDII also extends thorough mentoring support to help students start, progress and sustain a venture. With EDII’s own incubator, CrAdLE, the students now have an additional option of pitching their start-up models here for getting incubated.
Along with the technological and cultural interventions, which have a gripping effect on the society, intense developmental and societal changes are happening across the social landscape in our country. At the national and international levels too, there has been a growing concern towards addressing social, cultural, environmental and economic challenges faced by the society and communities. In India, the government sector and corporates have directed their efforts towards creating constructive channels and ensuring sustainable benefits. Experiencing the need for resource persons in the area, who can lead effective implementation and planning of projects, EDII offers a two-year PGDM in Development Studies (PGDM-DS). The course offers an opportunity to professionals to become social change leaders. The students of this course delve into the nuances of microenterprise development, microfinance, livelihood promotion and CSR interventions.
PGDM-DS is designed as a broad and multi-disciplinary programme to equip students with knowledge, analytical and conceptual skills of societal and economic development. During the two years of course, the students are given opportunities through field work and internships to get a better insight into the practical application of classroom teaching. They also get rich comprehension of trends and systems being practiced world over so that they are able to devise ingenious strategies by assimilating national and international trends. Over the past years, more than 50 students have either been placed at social organisations/enterprises or have become social entrepreneurs in the past five years. This course prepares students with the ability to provide entrepreneurial solutions to social problems, livelihoods for rural and urban poor, corporate social responsibility initiatives and creating social enterprises.
Explaining the scenario of entrepreneurship in Odisha, Prof C R Pattnaik, Regional Head, EDII Bhubaneswar said, “Odisha is fast emerging as one of the favourite investment destinations in the country, buoyed by positive business environment, robust infrastructure, stable government and vast coastline, which provides ample scope to businessmen for exporting their produce. Over the past few years, Bhubaneswar has emerged as one of the favourite cities for entrepreneurs due to its favourable government policies on MSME development and start-ups. As one of the foremost institute promoting entrepreneurship, we would be glad to offer required educational and mentoring support to budding entrepreneurs of the state.”
While, many of the alumni have used their training at EDII to successfully scale up their existing business, some have spun-off and started their own ventures.
Some alumni who have sprout from the state of Odisha:
Dibyajyoti Pattanaik holds a Post Graduate in Management from Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmadabad. He has over 12 years of experience in microfinance, micro enterprise development and development sector consulting. He has worked with public and development sector institutions in various roles before joining Peoples’ Forum as Program Head & CFO in 2007. He has played a crucial role in the transformation of mission Annapurna to Annapurna Micro Finance Private Limited, where he is presently the Director. The company now operates as an NBFC-MFI across 10 states of India.