Ludhiana
11 May 2022
DIVYA AZAD
Innovation Mission Punjab, a unique private-public partnership that aims to build, empower and act as a catalyst for local startup communities in Punjab, conducted an open idea pitch challenge at the PCET Group of colleges in the city today. The challenge was a part of IMPunjab’s Monthly Innovation Challenge organized in colleges and universities of Punjab to build a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship and support innovative ideas and founders from Punjab.
They received over 200+ ideas from students in the open pitch challenge, out of which 30 shortlisted ideas got to present to the Jury. They submitted a one-minute ‘Pitch Tape’ of their concept to the appointed Jury at the college, which was shortlisted based on its originality & innovativeness, commercial viability & feasibility, and business model.
The Jury consisted of Aanchal Sood – Head, Pollinator, IMPunjab; Mr. Abhay Singhal – Founder, TickTalkTo; Mr. Sahil Makkar – Chairman, Punjab Angels Network and Dr. Naresh Sachdev – Dean, Corporate Relations, PCET, Ludhiana.
Clean Built by Harasees Singh, I-Speak by Sukhman Singh & Creators by Raghav Arorawere the winners of the open idea pitch. The three winners received a cash prize of INR 10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand) each, along with an opportunity to present their idea to local incubators for ‘Supported Incubation’ at centres of excellence. By virtue of being the winners on stage, they will also get the opportunity to participate in the annual ROAR Finale Ideathon. The idea of Indian Roots by Aishwarya was incentivized with a special reward of INR 10,000/- as a budding women entrepreneur. Apart from the rewards, the winner gets an internship opportunity at existing startups to provide more exposure and hands-on experience in building companies. They will also have the chance to evaluate and commercialize technologies being developed at leading research institutions in the region, including IISER, NABI, and IIT Ropar.
Talking about the challenge, Aanchal Sood – Lead, Pollinator – IMPunjab, “There is a dearth of opportunities and platforms for students to share their ideas and get candid feedback beyond their ecosystem. This initiative is not only encouraging them to come forward but also giving them the confidence that entrepreneurship can be a great career option.”
Dr. Naresh Sachdev – Head of Corporate Relations, highlighting the participation numbers, said, “We are ecstatic that our students got the opportunity to showcase their ideas at the MIC in partnership with IMPunjab. The university has also moulded its curriculum so that the students get to experience and learn theoretical and practical knowledge, nurturing them into future leaders.
