Enterpreneurial Education (Mandi-an initiation) Talk-cum-Workshop

"Every single species except human beings make their own food!!!.. What a shame.."

Journeying Mumbai-Pune Expressway has always been fun, 17th April was even more special because coupled with the journey experience, I'd was talking and introducing "entrepreneurial education", a thing that is so badly needed in our Indian education.. oops.. rote-text setups.

I was fortunate to accompany Prof.Prasad.. the architect of Mandi at NITIE to Lotus Business School(LBS) in Pune for this talk-cum-workshop on entrepreneurial education which acts as initiation .. in a similar manner in which it is practiced among Hindus...Mr.Shivprasad, a wonderful and enterprising faculty at LBS was our host for our stay and took all possible troubles to make us feel comfortable. 

This post will talk about the entire days happening at LBS and make an attempt to draw insights from the same. 

The day started with a warm welcoming session...a thing that I simply feel very uncomfortable.

Session 1:

Prof. Prasad (PP) explained the concept of Mandi and highlighted his efforts in this direction to introduce entrepreneurial education into mainstream curriculum. You can find all the details about Mandi here

You can also find almost 600 mandi success stories-case studies here

I had this opportunity to share my ideas and thoughts about why entrepreneurial education is as important as air that we breath..You can find the urgency of this model on my upcoming post.

This faculty session was particularly interesting...I was talking while I was punching in.. so excuse me for any misinterpretations

PP:why are people not enterprising?

Participants(P):

1.     Lacking Capital and Expertise, 

2.     Parents object to starting up

3.     Go salaried.. No enterprising

4.     Sustainability

PP: Let's look at the solutions

Lack of Capital and Expertise:For starting a company on a large scale, one needs capital, expertise etc.

for starting a company one of the very important thing is readiness to learn.

kids fear that they'll lose on academics if they start enterprising.. kids study-sleep-study.. and do not do any activity.

but in enterprising education, kids learn better...and that is the only way..

Objection from parents: they will not object if the faculty itself encourages entrepreneurship..

Not enterprising but salaried is the way: Enterprising individual is a better service provider..Even salaried people are enterprising people.. must be.. 

Sustainability: nothing is sustainable... marriages too are not sustainable...sustainability must not be bothered about in enterprising education....for a startup.. these issues like sustainability, growth is not important...

Enterprising education should be taken for learning better, make oneself self sustainable.. and must be able to develop the attitude of being enterprising...

P: Students do not get time to start up and enterprise in MBA...

Me:normally any average kid spends hardly around 2-3 hours in college.. 

that is the maximum quality time...

PP: 80% time in colleges is a waste...hence why not utilize only 20% time to enterprise..

By enterprising.. the kids will be in the market and will have to deliver... and to deliver they will have to learn the concepts and the learning by getting involved is always better. Infact, that is the best way to learn..

Students at NITIE have to register a company on the very first day of joining the college..

1.     They have to show the partnership deed after 45 days of coming to college...

2.     80% marks come from academics, 20% comes from student enterprise work

3.     Communication, operational research, industry project all comes from assignments..

4.     There are 26 courses.. and all of them have assignments.. by linking the enterprising experience to complete the assignments.. 

5.     Imagine.. 40 companies in a classroom.. so everybody is everybody's teacher...and everybody is learning...the assignments can hence be shared.. because they are all the experiences..  and in an enterprise there is no right or wrong.. 

How does the program go about?

• The seniors themselves can be mentors for the juniors for they have gone through this experience.. and they feel that they can easily help the students..
• The kids learn all the concepts only through actual experience.. nothing else..
• This learning enables them to grow self-sufficient and self-reliant.. and learn better.. 

P: Actually, we do not know how to start our own company? Can you pls guide

PP: This is the problem with every person...but the idea behind enterprising education is not to start a company.. but to help in learning better...

• Hence start a company not to build a company, but to become enterprising.. 
• Start company.. and learn better.. close it at the end of your education program...
• Take up a placement.. and you will find the difference for yourself...do it and you'll experience..
• After working for sometime.. then if the entrepreneurial bug is still inside you... then think about starting an enterprise...
• Starting company is very simple.. two-three-four friends can come together and start whatever they wish to, with the intention to support their education and make them enterprising....

At IITB, NITIE, VJTI, TIMS.. we have started giving away awards to the student enterprises.. to encourage enterprising education..so that they start and make it a way of their life

PP: Can all the courses be delivered through enterprising medium.. ?

Book keeping, hrm, communication skills,exits, operational management, science, maths, physics, history, geography are subjects...

there are engineering subjects, management subjects and school subjects....all are very practical

It depends upon the faculty how to put it.. remember one thing.. there is no course which cannot be experienced.. if it can be experienced.. then it should not be introduced ...

not all courses be in an enterprising manner..few can be taken up and others can follow...

One thing which is very important.. is the ability of the faculty to decide to take up this task. because.. distantly.. enterprising education may look difficult..

but it is perhaps the easiest task.. because it reduces faculty's work.. since students learn all by themselves..

The teachers need not teach.. they just have to be enablers...

I spoke about the urgent need to make the faculty be more responsive to this pedagogy and accept.. it.. I drew a parallel between our current learning method and our ancient learning methods and was happy to find the faculty getting convinced about entrepreneurial form of education as a viable and exciting way of learning.

Session 2: Grooming Session

This was interesting.. we had already formed groups of the students through student coordinators and they were given enough time to study the products and formulate their selling strategies

The very road-side selling pitches that the teams came up was lot of fun to watch. Some of them even showcased their railway types selling pitches.

The student co-ordinators poonam, shantanu, and bali tried to lead their teams in framing questions..

PP asked everyone to be to frame questions. He explained the basics of

• Person,Product and Prospect.
• Price determination (real and perceived).. and role of managers in creating value.

He explained that the PRODUCT and PURPOSE are the most important aspects, everything being secondary.

"Product aur Purpose se business hota hain, even charity is also done in this way only"

Participants from four different colleges had gathered at this unique program and I was fortunate to learn about them and to share my thoughts and opinions.Hence never plead to your customer "please, please; arguments; personal question; you look well-off etc.. "doesnt work.. Only thing works is the 'VALUE that the Product is adding to your customer' 

The students were made to go through few more mock drills with refinement and on 18th April, sunday they would be in the market selling the products that they would have studied, strategised and found value out of...

I personally feel that the entire eco-system is just right.. and eco-systems are created out of mindsets and in some areas out of sheep-mentality...either ways it is for and individual to make a choice...
Choice to choose greatness or otherwise... and the quality of our life will finally boil down to the choices that we made.. and that I feel is the best insight that I can have in this entire day's experience... 
These students have already made a choice to be enterprising and hence will go on to make good employees in the organisations they serve and may also choose the less trodden path to become entrepreneurs.

I'll soon update about the wonderful people.. oops the beautiful dots that I could connect to at Pune and will also talk about my general experience about the beautiful city...