Nurturing the students’ various ingenious and revolutionary ideas into scalable businesses to help better the world is one of PU’s primary goals along with providing quality education and raising individuals to revolutionize the industry. The university hosted a two-day “Gujarat Startup Ecosystem Meet” in association with the Government of India Ministry of Commerce and Industry Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. The DPIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) initiated organizing events with NSAC members and state government departments to tour uncharted territory and enable entrepreneurs to develop solutions to rural problems. The Gujarat Startup ecosystem created a National Startup Advisory Council of 20 advisors listed, achievers from different fields, and running multinational firms.

The aim of this meet was to allow students to interact with leading entrepreneurs and experts from the Entrepreneurial space and to help them learn the entire process of building a startup from the ground up, and the current condition of the startup ecosystem in Gujarat. The students received personal mentoring, pitching opportunities, round table discussion, and further leading to an exhibition in front of all the invited personalities like CEO founders of multinational firms. The conference also allowed the students to gain invaluable insight into where the entrepreneurial environment in Gujarat is headed, straight from leading professionals. Over the years PU’s Entrepreneurial Development Cell has been providing support to budding entrepreneurs with the necessary support and tools, ranging from providing office space to guidance for business models, and finding the right investors for the students’ startups.

The Government of India had notified the National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC) to advise the government on measures needed to build a robust ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country to drive sustainable economic growth and generate large-scale employment opportunities. The Meet was adorned by Shri. A. B. GOR, IAS, Collector, Vadodara; Shri. Kunal Upadhyay Co-founder and Managing Partner, Bharat Innovation Fund & Co-Founder, CIIE.CO; Shri. D. R. Parmar, Joint Commissioner of Industries (Startups), Industries Commiserate, Government of Gujarat; Shri. Mihir Joshi, CEO, Gujarat Ventures Finance Limited (GVFL); Dr. Anand Bhadalkar Joint Director, Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission (GSBTM), Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat, and Dr. M. N. Patel, Provost, PU.

While delivering his speech, Mr. Kunal Upadhyay, Co-founder and managing partner of Bharat Innovation Fund said,  “I want the young people to become natural problem solvers. Every problem in India is a million-dollar opportunity for a startup and there is no better time to be an entrepreneur than right now.”  Further along, Shri D. R. Parmar appreciated the efforts of PU by quoting, “I see the multidisciplinarity that is happening here at PU right from design to arts, from medicine to engineering; pretty much everything that a top-class university in the world should have is here. This is the same environment which is required for innovation to happen.”